(RTTNews) - The markets in Asia, open for trading, ended in negative territory taking cues from Wall Street where the major averages ended sharply lower on Friday on concerns about sustaining recovery. The market in India is closed for a public holiday, and the Chinese market ended in positive territory. All the other markets ended in the red and await further signals about the global economy and earnings.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index slipped below the psychological 10,000-mark and lost 231.79 points, or 2.31% to 9,803, and the broader Topix index of all First Section issues was down 14.13 points, or 1.58%, to 881.

Almost all the sectors witnessed declines as optimism faded and pessimism about sustaining the economic recovery replaced the hopes. Of the 225 stocks in the Nikkei-225 Index, about 200 stocks ended in the negative territory while a few stocks in the gas and electric power sector managed to end in the green with minor gains.

Among the gainers, Osaka Gas gained 1.32% and Tokyo Gas advanced 0.84%. Among the electric power stocks, Chubu Electric Power was a major gainer with a gain of 4.21%, followed by Kansai Electric and Power with a gain of 2.04% and Tokyo Electric Power that advanced 0.67%.

Automotive stocks ended in negative territory on weak economic data, especially consumer sentiment, in the U.S, the major export market for Japanese automakers. Toyota Motor Corp. fell 2.46%, Suzuki Motor lost 2.91%, Honda Motor shed 2.08%, Nissan Motor slumped 3.27% and Mitsubishi Motor slipped 2.21%.

Trading companies also ended weaker. Mitsubishi Corp. declined 3.14%, Toyota Tsusho Corp. slumped 4.59%, Sumitomo Corp. lost 4.44%, Mitsui & Co. fell 3.33% and Itochu Corp. shed 4.25%.

Banking stocks also slipped into red on concerns about recovery. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial declined 1.58%, Resona Holdings lost 3.65% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial fell 1.21%. However, Mizuho Financial managed to buck the trend and added 0.55%.

Mixed trading was witnessed among shipping stocks. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha fell 3.55% and Nippon Yusen lost 0.88%. However, Mitsui OSK Lines bucked the trend and added 0.56%.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index fell 102.80 points, or 2.21% to close at 4,540, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,546, representing a loss of 100.60 points, or 2.16%.

On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that house prices in the country rose 4.2% during the third quarter, compared to a decline of 1.5% in the preceding second quarter. On annual basis, house prices rose 6.2% during the third quarter, following a 1.4% contraction in the previous quarter.

In a separate report, TD Securities and the Melbourne Institute revealed that the annual inflation gauge rose 1.2% during October after having risen 1.3% in the previous month. On a month-over-month basis, the inflation gauge slipped 0.3% in October after remaining steady in the previous two months.

The Reserve Bank of Australia, in a statement, revealed that commodity price index in SDR terms rose 0.7% month-on-month in October, after remaining unchanged in September. In Australian dollar terms, the index fell 3.7% in October, following a 2% decrease in September.

The Australian Industry Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that the Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index stood at a seasonally adjusted 51.7 in October, down slightly from 52.0 in September. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below 50 suggests contraction. Six of the twelve sub-sectors including transport equipment, basic metal products, construction materials, clothing & footwear, textile and miscellaneous manufacturing, expanded in October.

Almost all the sectors ended in negative territory mirroring the weak closing in Wall Street on Friday amid fresh concerns about economic recovery.

Metals and mining stocks declined sharply on weak commodity prices in the international market. BHP Billiton declined 1.98%, Rio Tinto fell 1.55%, Fortescue Metals lost 3.38%, Gindalbie Metals shed 3.95%, Iluka Resources decreased 2.29% and Oz Minerals plunged 3.75%.

Among gold stocks, Lihir Gold edged down 0.33%, Newcrest Mining slipped 0.58% and Sino Gold Mining fell 1.50%.

Oil stocks also ended in negative territory following sharp drop in crude oil prices in the international market. Santos fell 1.99%, Oil Search declined 0.85% and Origin Energy shed 0.68%. However, Woodside Petroleum bucked the trend and ended in positive territory with a gain of 1.13% after the company announced that it would sell its stake in the Otway Gas Project to joint venture partner Origin Energy for a consideration of A$715 million.

Among the banks, National Australia Bank was a major loser, having lost 3.18%, after the bank revealed that it concluded the purchase of 80.1% stake in Goldman Sachs JBWere’s private wealth management business. ANZ Bank fell 2.04%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 2.56% and Westpac Banking Group shed 2.96%. Investment banker Macquarie Group slumped 4.90%.

Retail stocks also ended in negative territory. The first day in market for Myer, department store operator, which is re-entering the market from today, was not good, having found itself in the wave of selling spree. The stock, which listed at A$4.10 in the morning, lost 8.54% and ended at A$3.75, amid huge volumes.

Among other retail stocks, David Jones declined 2.05%, Harvey Norman fell 2.26%, JB Hi-Fi lost 2.40%, Wesfarmers slumped 3.17% and Woolworths slipped 1.33%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 132.68 points, or 0.61% at 21,620, partially recovering some of the losses in early trading on positive economic news in mainland China. However, concerns about sustaining the economic recovery and sharp drop in commodity prices negatively impacted trading during the day. Li & Fung, the retailer whose major customers include Wal-Mart and Target, declined more than 3%. Banking and resource stocks also ended in negative territory.

In South Korea, the KOSPI Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 21.60 points, or 1.37%, at 1,559, on concerns about the prospect of global economic recovery on weaker-than-expected economic reports in the U.S that sparked sharp sell-off on Friday. The bankruptcy filing of CIT Group in the U.S. also dampened sentiment and dragged the indices lower. Banks, automakers and blue-chip stocks led the declines while shipping stocks advanced marginally.

The Indian market is closed for a public holiday.

Among the other major markets in the region, China’s Shanghai Composite Index surged up 80.80 points, or 2.70% to 3,076 and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index edged up 3.94 points, or 0.17% to 2,372. However, Singapore’s Strait Times Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 5.70 points, or 0.22% at 2,645 and Taiwan’s Weighted Index edged down 4.90 points, or 0.07%, to close at 7,335.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Japan, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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