(RTTNews) - After a fairly decent start, most Asian stock markets drifted lower on Thursday on growing concerns about the nascent global economic recovery. Investors trod a cautious path ahead of the release of key data on U.S. jobs. Lack of positive surprises from the U.S. Federal Reserve and caution ahead of rate decisions by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank also kept investors on the sidelines.

The Japanese market fell to a one-month low, as technology stocks fell, tracking a fall in the Nasdaq Composite Index overnight, and a weaker U.S. dollar dragged down exporters.

The benchmark Nikkei fell 127 points or 1.29% to 9,717, its lowest closing since Oct 6 and the broader Topix index of all the First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed at 875, down 6 points or 0.72%.

Among exporters, Sony Corp fell 2.11% and NEC tumbled 3.50%. Sanyo Electric plunged over 20% after Panasonic Corp. offered to buy a stake in the firm at a large discount. Toyota Motor shed 0.83% ahead of its second-quarter earnings announcement. Property developers and power utilities also ended lower after yields on government bonds rose to a three-month high.

Consumer-finance companies such as Takefuji and Promise rallied on an investment rating upgrade by an analyst at Citigroup. Oil and gas explorer Inpex soared 5.29% after lifting its annual profit forecast. Nissan Motor, which revised its annual outlook to a profit from a loss, also edged up 0.30%.

On the other hand, the Chinese market advanced for a fifth straight session, led by companies with operations in Shanghai amid reports about a proposed world-class Disney theme park in Shanghai. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index, which tracks both A and B shares, rose 27 points or 0.85% to 3,155, its highest close since Aug 11.

Railway companies such as Guangshen Railway and Daqin Railway rallied over 4% each, buoyed by Warren Buffett’s purchase of a 88% stake in a U.S rail firm. Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical hit the 10% upper circuit limit after it successfully developed an H1N1 flu medicine. Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical also rallied by 10% on winning a contract from Intervet, the animal health unit of Merck & Co.

However, Hong Kong stocks fell as investors moved to the sidelines fearing a further correction. The benchmark Hang Seng index closed at 21,479, down 136 points or 0.63%.

Market heavyweight HSBC Holdings fell 0.76%, top insurer China Life Insurance declined 1.34% and telecom firm China Mobile dropped 0.88%. Evergrande Real Estate Group jumped nearly 35% above its IPO price on its debut. Gold stocks advanced as gold prices hit a record high. Property stocks extended their declines on concerns luxury property prices in Hong Kong may see a near-term correction.

The South Korean market saw a broad-based fall on low volumes. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 1,552, down 28 points or 1.75%. Volume was moderate at 201.3 million shares worth 3.3 trillion won and decliners outnumbered gainers by 608 to 194. Domestic institutions and overseas investors offloaded shares worth KRW235.6 billion and KRW22.9 billion, respectively.

Among frontline stocks, exporters such as Hyundai Motor, Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor fell sharply, weighed down by mixed economic data from the U.S. Steel maker POSCO gave off a percent and shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries tumbled nearly 3%.

The Australian market fell as a weaker dollar pushed up the price of oil, triggering concerns about company earnings. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed at 4,508, down 32 points or 0.71% and the broader All Ordinaries index fell 28 points or 0.62% to 4,519, its lowest since September 7.

Big miner BHP Billiton declined 1.35% after it temporarily suspended work on a new rail line in Western Australia’s Pilbara region amid safety concerns. Its rival Rio Tinto also ended down 1.32%. Gold miners Newcrest and Lihir Gold ended subdued despite rising gold prices.

Real estate trust GPT tumbled over 4%, retailer Wesfarmers dropped 2.13% and phone company Telstra fell 1.86%. Leighton Holdings ended down 0.50% even as it reaffirmed its annual profit guidance.

Banks closed on a mixed note. National Australia Bank edged up 0.07%, Westpac Banking rose 0.39% on a brokerage upgrade and Commonwealth Bank added 0.93%, but ANZ fell nearly 3%. Likewise, in the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum rose 0.38%, while Oil Search fell 1.19% and Santos shed 0.47%.

On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that Australia’s trade deficit widened less than expected in September, with both imports and exports on the rise. Nevertheless, September marked the fifth successive month in which Australia has posted a trade deficit.

The New Zealand market ended a lackluster session lower, dragged down by property stocks. Sentiment was also affected after a report issued by Statistics NZ showed that New Zealand’s unemployment rate climbed to 6.5% in the September quarter, the highest since 2000, and up from 6.0% percent in the June quarter.

The benchmark NZX-50 closed at 3,145, down 22 points or 0.7%. Within the index, 17 stocks declined, 22 advanced and 11 closed flat.

Goodman Property Trust fell nearly 2% after it reported disappointing earnings and revealed plans to raise $100 million via a bond offering. AMP NZ Office Trust tumbled 3.70% and Kiwi Income Property Trust, which proposed a notes issue to raise up to $150 million, declined 2.78%.

Among to bluechip stocks, bellwether Telecom fell 2.36%, utility Contact Energy declined 2.44% and construction firm Fletcher Building eased 1.63%. PGG Wrightson advanced 1.67% on optimism about the rural sector.

Whiteware maker Fisher & Paykel Appliances surged up nearly 5% and medical devices maker Fisher & Paykel Healthcare advanced by 2% as the NZ dollar fell against the U.S. and Australian dollars after Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard said that New Zealand’s economic recovery is slower compared to Australia and is more vulnerable.

On Wall Street, stocks ended on a mixed note for a second straight session on Wednesday following the release of a pair of rather lukewarm economic reports. The Institute for Supply Management said that activity in the service sector grew for the second consecutive month in October, but the pace of growth unexpectedly slowed compared to the previous month.

Separately, a report on private sector employment showed that the pace of job losses continued to decrease in October, while non-farm private employment fell by 203,000, higher than a loss of 198,000 jobs that economists had expected.

On the other hand, the Fed left its target rate unchanged in a range from zero to a quarter percent and reiterated its assessment that “exceptionally” low rates will continue for an “extended period.” The major averages saw notable downside in late day trading, pushing the tech-heavy Nasdaq into negative territory. However, the Dow ended up 0.3% and the S&P 500 rose 0.1%.

After settling higher at $80.40 a barrel, up 80 cents on Wednesday, crude oil pared some of its gains and traded below $80 barrel on Thursday.

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Posted in Categories: Releases, Stocks.

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