(RTTNews) - The markets open for trading across Asia-Pacific region ended in negative territory on Tuesday, despite opening in positive territory on Wall Street cues, as traders preferred to lock in gains from recent rally and move to sidelines awaiting further cues about global economy. Bearish comments about US banks from Meredith Whitney and comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke about maintaining lower interest rates for an extended period of time impacted market sentiment.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index declined 61.25 points, or 0.63%, to 9,730, and the broader Topix index of all First Section issues fell 3.42 points, or 0.40%, to 857.

On the economic front, data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry revealed that the index measuring tertiary industry activity in the country fell 0.5% during September to a score of 96.4. Economists expected the index to nudge higher by 0.2% after having increased 0.3% during August.

Airline stocks declined after a major shareholder in Japan Airlines, Tokyu Corp, said that it is considering unloading part of its shareholdings in the beleaguered airline company. Following news, the stock declined 3.77%. The other airline company, All Nippon Airways slipped 0.85%.

Continuing strength in the local currency, the Japanese yen, which briefly slipped below the 89 yen mark, also impacted the market sentiment.

Mixed trading was witnessed among the automotive stocks. Toyota Motor added 0.52% and Honda Motor remained unchanged at previous close. However, other automotive stocks declined sharply. Mitsubishi Motors declined 3.10%, Suzuki Motor slipped 1.61%, Nissan Motor shed 0.92% and Mazda Motor fell 2.99%.

Banking stocks also ended mixed. While Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gained 1.46% and Resona Holdings advanced 1.01%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial slipped 0.66%, and Mizuho Financial fell 1.16%.

Chemical stocks ended in negative territory. Shin-Etsu Chemical declined 1.69%, Kao Corp. fell 1.72%, Nissan Chemical Industries lost 2.55% and Mitsui Chemicals slipped 0.62%.

Property stocks managed to end in positive territory. Mitsubishi Estate gained 2.01%, Mitsui Fudosan advanced 1.83%, Heiwa Real Estate climbed 2.82% and Sumitomo Realty & Development edged up 0.45%.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index slipped 25.80 points, or 0.54% to close at 4,729, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,750, representing a loss of 23.60 points, or 0.49%.

On the economic front, minutes of the RBA meeting held on November 3 revealed that the MPC is strongly inclined to increase the interest rates, but fell short of hinting at the timing of the rate hikes. The minutes showed the Monetary Policy Committee felt “conditions in the global and Australian economies were significantly better than expected earlier in the year,” with the board concluding that “it remained prudent, over time, gradually to reduce the degree of monetary accommodation.”

Banking stocks led the decline following bearish comments about US banks by banking analyst Meredith Whitney. ANZ Bank declined 1.31%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 2.45% and Westpac Banking lost 2.33%. However, National Australia Bank remained unchanged from previous close. Investment banking company Macuarie Group slipped 0.81%.

Among other stocks in financial sector, AMP Limited shed 1.72% and AXA Asia Pacific lost 2.50%.

Metals and mining stocks ended mixed. BHP Billiton gained 1.00%, Rio Tinto advanced 0.71%, and Oz Minerals added up 0.39%. However, Fortescue Metals slipped 0.47%, Gindalbie Metals fell 0.52% and Iluka Resources edged down 0.29%.

Oil stocks ended in negative territory. Woodside Petroleum lost 1.00%, Santos slipped 0.91%, Origin Energy shed 0.42% and Oil Search edged down 0.17%.

Mixed trading was witnessed among gold stocks. While Lihir Gold lost 0.86% and Newcrest Mining shed 0.45%, Sino Gold Mining bucked the trend and edged higher with a gain of 0.13%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 29.83 points, or 0.13% at 22,914 as traders took the opportunity to lock in gains following recent rally in the market. Positive closing in Wall Street where the major averages ended in positive territory lifted the market in early session, but lack of purchasing power, bearish comments on US banks by banking analyst Meredith Whitney and concerns about economic data impacted trading. As many as 29 of the 42 components in the index ended in negative territory.

In South Korea, the KOSPI Index also ended in negative territory with a loss of 6.49 points, or 0.41% at 1,586, as foreign institutional investors and domestic traders offloaded stocks on profit taking following recent gains. Weak trading cues across the other markets in the region, which opened strongly in the early session taking cue from Wall Street, also impacted trading in Seoul. Volume of trading was relatively thin as traders preferred to stay in the sidelines awaiting further directions.

The Indian market ended a volatile session on a flat note Tuesday as investors stayed on the sidelines amid weak global cues. The benchmark BSE Sensex, which hovered in negative territory throughout the session, fell to as low as 16,883 in the afternoon before finishing at 17,051, up 18 points or 0.11%, and the S&P CNX Nifty rose by 4 points to 5,062. Gains in IT stocks were offset by declines in realty, oil/gas and public sector stocks.

Among the other major markets in the region, China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 7.84 points or 0.24% to close at 3,283 and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index added 5.11 points, or 0.21% to close at 2,474. However, Singapore’s Strait Times Index declined 18.90 points, or 0.68% to close at 2,765, and Taiwan’s Weighted Index shed 59.47 points, or 0.76%, to close at 7,733.

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

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