(RTTNews) - The stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed mostly lower on Monday after Wall Street finished mixed on Friday. Asian investors locked in profits from recent advances after Japan reported weak exports data. Crude oil prices rose in Asian trade Monday amid prospects of another production cut from the OPEC. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted in the upper 89-yen levels in late Tokyo deals.

At 3:38 a.m. ET, oil for February delivery was quoted at $42.65 a barrel, up 29 cents, after the contract fell 69 cents to settle at $42.36 a barrel on Friday. The January contract, which expired on Friday, plunged 6.5% to $33.87 a barrel, the lowest settlement since February 10, 2004.

Wall Street finished mixed on Friday as the strong upward move seen in early trading on the back of a government bailout of the auto industry lost steam over the course of the day following a steep fall in oil prices. The Dow closed down 25.9 points or 0.3% at 8,579.1, while the Nasdaq rose 12.0 points or 0.8% to 1,564.3 and the S&P 500 advanced 2.6 points or 0.3% to 887.9.

The U.S. dollar was quoted at 89.84- 89.86 yen in late Tokyo deals, up 0.92 yen from Monday’s domestic close of 88.92-88.94 yen. The South Korean won finished the domestic session weaker at 1,309.0 a U.S. dollar. The Aussie finished lower at US$0.6816-0.6822 and the kiwi ended lower at US$0.5760.

The Japanese stock market closed higher, reversing Friday’s 0.9% losses. After starting off on a flat note, the market posted strong gains over the course of the trading session as investor sentiment was buoyed by the U.S. government’s announcement Friday that it will provide emergency loans to beleaguered automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. A weaker yen also contributed to the positive investor sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed up135.3 points or 1.6% at 8,723.8 and the broader Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues climbed 14.3 points or 1.7% to 848.7.

On the economic front, the Ministry of Finance said in a report that Japan posted its second consecutive monthly merchandise trade deficit in November, led by the biggest ever decline in exports. The trade deficit totaled 223.42 billion yen compared to a deficit of 67.69 billion yen in October and a surplus of 85.68 billion yen in September. Exports fell 26.7% on year and imports declined 14.4%, the first decline since September 2007.

In other economic news, the Bank of Japan’s monthly report of recent economic and financial developments showed that Japanese economic conditions are likely to deteriorate in the immediate future. Exports are expected to drop considerably due to the slowdown in global economies and the appreciation of the yen. Production is also forecast to decrease substantially.

Japan’s supermarket sales rose 0.6% in November from a year earlier on a same-store basis, up for the first time in four months. Sales totaled 1.11 trillion yen, according to the Japan Chain Stores Association.

Exporters were mostly higher on dollar’s strength against the yen. TDK and Tokyo Electron jumped 5.3% each, and Honda Motor added 5.4%.

Financial shares finished higher after the Bank Of Japan said Friday that it would purchase commercial paper and JGBs. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 2.9%, Mizuho Financial Group climbed 4.0%, top brokerage Nomura Holdings surged up 7.6%, and Sompo Japan Insurance soared 9.2%.

Oil and gas miner Inpex Holdings rose 3..9%, but Nippon Mining Holding plunged 3.5%. Among other commodity-related stocks, Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsui & Co. added 0.5% each.

The South Korean stock market closed lower, snapping a five-day winning streak, as investors locked in profits from recent advances. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI closed down 1.4 points or 0.1% at 1,179.6 after testing the 1,200 mark in the morning session for the first time in more than one month.

Investors sold builders as the land ministry’s property deregulation measures fell short of market expectations. Daewoo Engineering & Construction fell 0.4% and rival Hyundai Engineering & Construction shed 1.8%.

Tech bellwether Samsung Electronics declined 0.7% and chip giant Hynix Semiconductor lost 3.6%. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.0% on the back of a U.S. auto industry aid package.

Chinese stocks closed lower, led by property developers, as expectation for an interest rate cut over the weekend failed to materialize. The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 30.7 points or 1.5% at 1,987.8 after rising 3.3% last week. The expiry of share lock-up periods also added to the negative investor sentiment.

According to local media reports, 15.33 billion shares in 70 firms will become freely tradable this week due to the expiry of lock-up provisions either linked to initial public offerings or to reforms of companies’ state shareholding structures.

China Pacific Insurance Group slumped 5.1% after the company said that around 1.58 billion of its shares would emerge from a lock-up period and become tradable on Thursday. Property developer China Vanke plunged 4.9%.

Oil refiner Sinopec dropped 3.1%, while index heavyweight PetroChina lost 1.4% amid news that fuel prices would be cut and that tax would be hiked.

Baoshan Iron and Steel, China’s largest steel maker, fell 2.8% and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China shed 1.1%.

Among gainers, Jiangxi Copper rose 2.2% as base metals futures in Shanghai surged by their 4% daily limit, buoyed by emergency loan plans for U.S. automakers from the U.S. and Canadian governments.

The Australian stock market closed lower, ending a three-day winning streak. The market started off higher after Wall Street finished mixed on Friday, but soon lost ground amid weakness among the resources stocks. The benchmark SP/ASX 200 index closed down 58.3 points or 1.6% at 3,557.4 and the broader All Ordinaries index shed 54.9 points or 1.5% to 3,492.3.

On the economic front, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that new motor vehicle sales fell in November by a seasonally adjusted 5.2% from October. New vehicle sales were also lower by a seasonally adjusted 17.8% from last year.

In the resources sector, index leader BHP Billiton dropped 0.9%, while Rio Tinto plunged 4.2% on news that it is shutting down its Hismelt pig iron production plant in WA for three months due to a drop in demand. Fortescue Metals Group tumbled 20.6% after it issued A$3.6 million worth of shares to pay a contractor as a way of protecting its cash reserves. Among energy stocks, Santos fell 4.7% and Oil Search lost 4.5 % after crude oil for January delivery, which expired on Friday, plunged 6.5% to $33.87 a barrel, the lowest settlement since February 10, 2004..

Arrow Energy made a friendly takeover offer for Pure Energy Resources, valuing the company at A$673 million. Pure jumped 50%, while Arrow fell 11%.

Banks closed mixed. Commonwealth Bank fell 2.7%, NAB shed 2.0% and Westpac plunged 3.1%, while ANZ Bank advanced 1.5%. Investment bank Macquarie Group plummeted 3.2%. Elsewhere in the financial sector, Suncorp Metway sank 5.7% and insurer QBE dropped 2.1%.

Babcock and Brown Power shares surged 44% after the company said that it is reviewing a number of submissions it has received from third parties to acquire the business.

Qantas shares fell 3.8%. After the market closed, the airline said that it would be cutting its international and domestic fuel surcharges by about 15% from Tuesday December 23.

Envestra, Australia’s biggest natural gas distributor jumped 10% after the company raised its fiscal 2009 profit after tax forecast by 20% to A$30 million. It also announced an A$111 million rights issue at A$0.30 per share.

The New Zealand stock market closed higher, recouping a portion of the nearly 2% losses that it posted on Friday. The market opened higher, despite a weak lead from Wall Street, and extended its gains as investors went bargain hunting. The benchmark NZX 50 index closed up 24.4 points or 0.9% at 2,679.8 and the broader NZX All Capital index advanced 17.4 points or 0.7% to 2,708.8.

On the economic front, the current account data released today confirmed that New Zealand’s deficit with the outside world is of historic proportions. New Zealand’s current account deficit stood at NZ$4.08 billion for the third quarter of 2008 compared to a deficit of NZ$4.65 billion for the preceding three-month period. The Statistics New Zealand also said that the country’s deficit for the year through September was NZ$15.5 billion compared to a deficit of NZ$15.0 billion for the year through the preceding quarter.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence in New Zealand declined in the December quarter, according to the latest survey from Westpac Bank. The Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index declined 3.5 points to a reading of 101.3, with readings over 100 indicating the number of optimists is greater than the number of pessimists among those surveyed.

The gross domestic product data due for release on Tuesday is expected to show recession for a third quarter.

Among market leaders, Telecom and Contact Energy closed unchanged, while Fletcher Building surged up 4.6%. TrustPower rose 2.2%, but Fisher & Paykel Appliances and Guinness Peat Group finished flat.

Casino operator SkyCity rose 3.5%, continuing to benefit from its status as a defensive stock. Sanford gained 2.2%.

Among losers, NZX fell 3.0%, PGG Wrightson plummeted 8.7%, Cavalier shed 4.3%, Rakon fell 3.7%, The Warehouse Group slipped 0.3%, New Zealand Oil and Gas lost 2.3% after lifting its stake in Australia’s Pan Pacific Petroleum to just shy of the 15% level.

Other Asian markets:-

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed down 3.3% at 14,622; Taiwan’s Taiex plunged 3.4% to 4,535; Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index dropped 0.2% to 1,345; Malaysia’s KLCI closed down 3 points at 873; Singapore’s STI shed 2.8% to 1,745 and India’s Sensex was losing 1.8% to 9,917 at 4:27 a.m. ET.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Canada, Economy, Japan, New Zealand, Releases, USA.

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