(RTTNews) - Asian markets are trading weak on Tuesday with investors indulging in some heavy selling following a negative close on Wall Street overnight. With more earnings reports scheduled for release over the next few days, participants appear to have chosen a cautious path, perhaps believing the markets have run up quite sharply on optimism about corporate earnings and global economy.

The Australian market is down with a sharp loss with resource-related stocks leading the decline. Property trusts, industrials and consumer discretionary stocks are also trading with sharp losses. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is down 53.3 points, or 1.1%, at 4,777, while the broader All Ordinaries index is trading at 4,775, down 57.6 points, or 1.2%, from its previous close.

Among top miners, BHP Billiton is down 1.6%, Rio Tinto is trading lower by about 1.7% and Newcrest Mining is down by over 3%. Bluescope Steel, Fortescue Metals and Lihir Gold are also trading sharply lower, while Incitec Pivot and Orica are trading with modest losses.

In the energy space, Woodside Petroleum is down 2.3%, Santos is trading lower by about 1%, and Origin Energy is losing nearly 2.5%. Oil Search is down with a modest loss.

Among bank stocks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corporation are trading modestly lower, while ANZ Bank and National Australia Bank are up with small gains.

Diversified financials stock Macquarie Group is down 1.5%. The group has bought Canadian wealth management business, Blackmont Capital Inc, for C$93.3 million (A$95.16 million) to expand the distribution of its brokerage offerings in the country. Macquarie will pay cash to CI Financial for the investment dealer division of Blackmont Capital Inc. Blackmont will become part of Macquarie’s banking and financial services group and be rebranded Macquarie Private Wealth.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened lower with a stronger US dollar and weak equity markets reducing demand for commodity-driven currencies. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9148-US$0.9151, down 0.94% from Monday’s close of US$0.9234-US$0.9239. The Australian dollar is currently trading at 0.9183 to the U.S. dollar.

In Tokyo, tracking the overnight decline on Wall Street, the Japanese market drifted lower on Tuesday with stocks cutting across various sectors reeling under selling pressure.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which opened nearly 80 points down at 10,283 and drifted down to 10,202, is currently trading at 10,230, down 132.6 points, or 1.28% from its previous close.

Steel, non-ferrous metals, machinery, electric machinery, textiles, chemicals and pharmaceuticals stocks are mostly trading lower. Shares of retail houses, securities firms and trading companies are also mostly down in the red.

Among bank stocks, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Resona Holdings, Sumitomo Trust and Banking and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are trading notably lower.

In the automobile space, Suzuki Motor, Honda Motor, Toyota Motor and Mitsubishi Motors are exhibiting weakness.

Shares of food major Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd., are gaining over 2% following an announcement from the company that it will shut down two domestic plants by next October, based on the brewery’s 2010-2012 medium-term management plan.

Mitsubishi Rayon declined nearly 3% on reports the firm likely booked a group net loss of 9.8 billion yen in the April-September half, worse than the previously projected 7 billion deficit. The firm booked a 126 million group net profit in the same period last year.

Hitachi is gaining over 4% following an announcement from the company that it will likely book a group net loss of 230 billion yen in the year ending March, lower than the previously projected 270 billion yen loss. The firm booked a 787.3 billion yen group net loss in fiscal 2008.

Shares of Fujifilm Holdings Corp. are up over 5% on reports the firm likely saw a group operating loss of 8 billion yen in the six months through September, significantly lower than the 43.9 billion yen loss in the previous half.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 92-yen range early Tuesday, little changed from its late Monday quotes in New York. In early trades, the dollar fetched 92.19-92.21 yen against Monday’s close of 92.13-92.23 yen in New York and 91.83-91.85 yen in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 92.05 to the U.S. dollar.

The South Korean market is trading in the red on Tuesday with investors tracking Wall Street’s negative close overnight and pressing sales in technology, energy, banking and shipbuilding stocks.

The benchmark KOSPI index, which opened more than 10 points down at 1,646.8 and dropped down to 1,637, is currently trading at 1,640 with a loss of 17.1 points, or 1.1%.

Shipping stocks are among the most prominent losers with reports of likely cancellation of of ship orders by TMT, the Taiwanese dry-bulk shipping firm, causing the damage. Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and STX Pan Ocean are trading lower by 2%-2.8%, while Daewoo Shipbuilding is down by about 1.5%.

Among bank stocks, Korea Exchange Bank and Woori Finance are down 1.3% and 2% respectively while KB Financial and Shinhan Financial are trading modestly lower.

In the tech space, heavyweight Samsung Electronics is down by about 1%, LG Display LCD is declining 2.7% and Hynix Semicondutor is trading lower by 1.3%. LG Electronics, however, is up in positive territory with a sharp 2.2% gain.

Among automobile stocks, Kia Motor and Hyundai Motor are trading flat, while Ssangyong Motor is down with a loss of 2.4%. Airliners Korea Airlines and Asiana Airlines are trading lower by 2% and 1.3% respectively.

Oil stocks SK Holdings and S-Oil are down with notable losses. KEPCO is down 1.7% from its previous closing price. Steel and telecom stocks are also seen struggling for support.

Other markets across the Asia-Pacific region are also currently trading in the red. Shanghai, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Indonesia are trading notably lower with their benchmark indices losing between 1%- 1.75%. Singapore and Taiwan are also trading weak, but with less pronounced losses. Most of the markets in the region had ended higher on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks gave up early gains and declined sharply on Monday amid a considerable pullback in the financial and commodity sectors. While early strength came as traders reacted positively to the latest batch of earnings news and optimism about the third quarter GDP report, some negative analyst comments about the financial sector hurt sentiment during the later part of the session.

The Dow closed with a loss of 104.2, or 1.1%, at 9,868, the Nasdaq declined 12.6 points, or 0.6%, to 2,142, and the S&P 500 ended down 12.7 points, or 1.2%, at 1,067.

Major European markets retreated by notable margins on Monday, with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index falling by 1%, while the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index both closed down by 1.7%.

Crude oil prices plunged away from a yearly high on Monday as global equities fell, raising concerns over the economy. A stronger U.S. dollar also lessened oil’s hedge value. Light sweet crude for December delivery fell to US$78.68, down US$1.82 on the session.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Copyright(c) 2009 RTTNews.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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

Subscribe by RSS Subscribe by Email  Email This Post To A Friend