Agence France-Presse
HONG KONG, Sept 22 (AFP)

HONG KONG, Sept 22 (AFP) — Asian share markets closed narrowly mixed Wednesday with profit taking continuing in a number of markets that have seen recent rallies, notably China and Indonesia.

A further climb in oil prices and an absence of significant fresh leads kept trading generally cautious.

The as-expected 25 basis points hike in the US Federal Reserve’s key rate was largely ignored although an announcement by key Hong Kong banks to raise lending rates in line with the Fed move saw the market come under pressure.

In Japan dismal trade figures for August raised fears that the country’s export-led recovery may be faltering, while in Jakarta euphoria over a peaceful election gave way to profit taking Wednesday as investors turned their focus on the possible cabinet line-up and policies of former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who is expected to replace incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri when the final vote count for Monday’s poll is complete.

Chinese shares also fell back, as investors continued to cash in gains from a heady rally driven by a spate of market friendly announcements from the government.

A rise on Wall Street overnight however helped underpin light gains in Taipei and Manila while both the Australian and New Zealand bourses continued on their merry way finishing at record levels.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed down 0.55 percent Wednesday after the announcement of a lower than expected trade surplus in August raised concerns over the sustainability of the country’s export-led recovery, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 61.46 points to 11,019.41. The broader TOPIX index of all First Section shares fell 1.94 points or 0.17 percent to 1,114.08.

Japan’s merchandise trade surplus in August fell 26 percent from a year earlier to 576.1 billion yen (5.2 billion dollars), the first year-on-year drop in 14 months, the finance ministry said Wednesday.

The announced figure was far below the consensus forecast, with local economists on average expecting a surplus of 833.4 billion yen, according to a Nihon Keizai Shimbun survey of 24 research institutes.

«The August data implies that export activity is most likely to gradually lose the ability to lead economic growth in Japan as demand in China and the United States is slowing down,» said Taro Saito, an economist at NLI Research Institute.

«In addition (to the data), as the (corporate) accounts book closing for the first half is nearing, institutional investors, dealers of securities houses and retail investors are unwilling to take any fresh positions,» said Livedoor Securities market analyst Takayuki Suezaki.

Automakers were sold on renewed concerns over the demand outlook in the United States and China in light of the trade data.

Honda fell 80 yen or 1.4 percent to 5,470 yen, with Mazda slipping three or 0.9 pct to 348 while Nissan lost six or 0.5 percent to 1,206.

Major electronics manufacturers ended broadly lower, with Hitachi declining nine or 1.3 percent to 677, Toshiba off six or 1.5 percent at 4,006, and Sony off 10 at 3,750.

SEOUL: South Korean share prices closed sharply lower Wednesday, ending down 2.6 percent, as institutional investors dumped Samsung Electronics and other blue chips, dealers said.

Fresh worries about rising oil prices and news that Hynix Semiconductor had been fined for accounting irregularities weighed on sentiment, they said.

The KOSPI index closed down 22.05 points at 835.10, off a high of 863.19. It was the first time since September 10 that the key index fell below 840 points. «I think we’ve entered a short-term corrective phase,» Tongyang Investment Bank analyst Kim Joo-Hyeong said. «Investors took higher oil prices as an excuse to cash in recent gains.»

Blue chips closed sharply lower across the board.

Samsung Electronics closed down 11,500 won at 462,500 as foreign investors continued to take profits following a sharp run-up after the company announced a share buy-back program.

Hynix Semiconductor fell 500 to 10,500 on news that it was fined two billion won by regulators for irregular accounting practices it committed in 1999.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.24 percent lower Wednesday, with sentiment hit as local banks raised interest rates in line with the US Federal Reserve action overnight, dealers said.

HSBC and Bank of East Asia announced as the market closed that they would raise their prime lending rates to 5.125 percent from 5.00 percent, with others following suit later.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 32.25 points to 13,272.23, off a low of 13,265.17 and high of 13,356.88, on turnover of 17.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.24 billion US dollars).

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was down 96.61 points or 2.0 percent at 4,573.68.

HSBC closed down 0.50 at 123.00 Hong Kong dollars while Hang Seng Bank was up 0.50 at 105.50 and BOC Hong Kong lost 0.05 to 14.30.

Property stocks were mixed, with Sun Hung Kai Properties steady at 76.50 and Cheung Kong up 0.50 to 69.50.

TAIPEI: Taiwan share prices closed 0.35 percent higher Wednesday on the back of firmer Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by an as expected 25 basis points to 1.75 percent, dealers said.

While short-term investors locked in profits after early gains, hopes of end-quarter window dressing helped the main index close at the day’s high.

The weighted index closed up 20.92 points at 5,970.18, off a low of 5,929. 24, on turnover of 85.43 billion Taiwan dollars (2.52 billion US dollars).

Kai Yuan Securities Investment Consultant president Tom Tang said local stocks continued their upward momentum after the US Fed sprang no unpleasant surprises overnight.

«As a US interest rate hike had been factored into local shares, some short-term investors chose to take profit on select stocks,» he said.

However, some window dressing by fund managers and institutional investors ahead of the closing of their books for the September quarter allowed the market to hold in positive territory.

Acer Inc rose 0.50 to 46.50 after announcing a plan to dispose of shares in BenQ and Hon Hai Precision Industry.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 0.20 to 45.80 Taiwan dollars while rival United Microelectronics Corp was steady at 21.20.

SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed 1.96 percent lower Wednesday as investors continued to take profits following the market’s recent sharp rally, dealers said.

They said investors increasingly preferred to pocket their gains after a week-long advance of 16 percent on the main index and adopt a wait-and-see attitude until more market-friendly policies are announced by the government.

The Shanghai A-share Index fell 29.81 points to 1,489.87 on turnover of 19. 36 billion yuan (2.34 billion dollars) while the Shenzhen A-share Index was down 7.22 points or 1.88 percent at 376.80 on turnover of 11.61 billion yuan.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A- and B-shares, closed down 28.41 points or 1.96 percent at 1,420.15 on turnover of 19.50 billion yuan.

«Investors are becoming more and more cautious after recent gains. They would rather choose cash over stocks (until) concrete market boosting regulations come out,» said Guo Yanlin, a Shanghai Securities analyst.

«The week-long rebound has hit its ceiling for the short term and the market will keep correcting in coming days,» Guo added.

Auto stocks were among the biggest losers with Shenyang Brilliance Automotive down 0.22 yuan or 5.23 percent at 3.99 after rising nearly 15 percent in the last two trading sessions.

Shanghai Automotive fell 0.33 yuan or 3.97 percent to 7.98, while Zhongtong Bus Holding lost 0.24 yuan or 5.31 percent to 4.28.

Financial firms were also in negative territory, with China Minsheng Banking down 0.24 yuan or 3.40 percent to 6.82.

China Merchants Bank, the largest listed lender, fell 0.28 yuan or 2.91 percent to 9.33 and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank shed 0.29 yuan or 3.16 percent to 8.90.

Bucking the trend, power plays outperformed the broad market on rotational trade.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed up 0.3 percent Wednesday, reaching new highs as banking and resource sector firms rebounded, dealers said.

Continued optimism about the corporate outlook along with a large amount of fund money available for investment helped the market shrug off a brief bout of profit taking over the past two days.

The benchmark SP/ASX 200 index closed up 10.9 points at a new all-time high of 3,640.8, to beat its previous record set last Friday.

The broader All Ordinaries index also hit a fresh all-time high, up 9.9 points at 3,652.6.

«It has been a really good market,» said Intersuisse equities manager Andrew Sekely.

«Resources have had a pretty good day and of the top stocks the only one that has come down is News Corp.

Paterson Ord Minnett private client advisor Ric Klusman said optimism continues to reign in the market.

»There’s a general feeling around of confidence, there’s a lot of cash around and nobody is expecting any major hiccups until at least the Australian and US elections are over," Klusman said.

In resources, BHP closed up 11 cents at 13.96 dollars and Rio Tinto rose 26 cents to 37.91 dollars.

Among the banks, National Australia Bank rose 17 cents to 27.21 dollars, the Commonwealth Bank was up 17 cents at 29.95 dollars, ANZ gained 11 to 18.47 dollars and Westpac closed up 12 cents to 17.12 dollars.

Market heavyweight News Corp. was down nine cents at 11.78 dollars while Telecoms giant Telstra closed down one cent at 4.63 dollars.

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares prices closed 0.42 percent lower Wednesday in the absence of fresh leads, bringing the market back below the key 2,000 points level, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index fell 8.32 points to 1,993.55, while the broader All Singapore Equities index dropped 1.52 points to 519.7.

«The STI has encountered a resistance at 2,000 points but I don’t think it is strong resistance … The market mood remains positive,» a dealer with a regional brokerage said.

Technology firm MMI Holdings topped volumes after a «buy» rating from DBS Vickers, which noted that while the company’s hard disk drive business is expanding, its other operations are poised for even stronger growth.

MMI was up 1.5 cents to 37 cents on trade of 26 million shares.

Among blue-chips, Singapore Telecommunications was unchanged at 2.41 dollars, Singapore Press Holdings was up two cents at 4.82 and Singapore Airlines fell 10 cents to 11.40.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed down 1.02 percent Wednesday, led by blue-chip losses as investors locked in profits from recent market gains, dealers said.

A fresh uptick in global oil prices overnight and a lack of strong positive leads also weighed on sentiment, they said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 8.83 points to 856.30.

Volume was 341 million shares valued at about 710 million ringgit (187 million dollars).

«There is no real catalyst (to encourage buying) … and there is still concern over oil prices,» said a local brokerage dealer.

Among bluechips, power firm Tenaga Nasional closed down 0.20 ringgit at 11. 30, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.10 to 11.30 and Malayan Banking eased 0.10 to 10. 80.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.68 percent lower Wednesday as investors cashed in gains from a pre-election rally, dealers said.

They noted that the market had been due for a correction after rising sharply in the past month and with players adopting a cautious stance ahead of news on the lineup of the next cabinet.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 5.628 points at 818. 230 on volume of 1.62 billion shares worth 926.49 billion rupiah (103 million dollars).

Kim Eng Securities head of research Baradita Katoppo said he expected the profit taking to continue for the rest of the week since the index had risen nearly 13 percent in the month prior to the presidential run-off election.

«In the medium to longer term, we believe that the market still offers attractive value but given its pre-election run-up, it must consolidate,» Katoppo said.

State telecom firm Telkom closed flat at 8,450 rupiah while long distance operator Indosat dropped 50 rupiah at 4,325.

BANGKOK: Thai share prices closed up 0.39 percent Wednesday, boosted by late buying in blue-chip stocks, dealers said.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index gained 2.59 points at 663.51 points and the blue-chip SET 50 index was up 0.19 points at 46.03.

«Trading patterns were similar to Tuesday until late buying in the communications sector and other bluechips boosted the index,» said Capital Nomura Securities analyst Eakpittaya Eamkongeak.

Among communications stocks Advanced Info Service rose 3.50 baht at 102. 00 while its parent Shin Corp gained 0.75 baht at 38.75. United Communication added 0.50 baht at 58.00.

Bangkok Bank fell 1.50 baht to close at 97.50, Kasikornbank lost 1.50 baht at 46.25, and Siam Commercial Bank shed 1.25 baht at 46.75.

MANILA: Philippine share prices closed 0.42 percent higher Wednesday, supported by a firmer Wall Street and the release of better-than-expected budget deficit figures for August, dealers said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index gained 7.20 points to 1,727. 88 after moving between 1,720.68 and 1,740.94.

Volume was 636.3 million shares worth 975.3 million pesos (17.4 million dollars).

«The market is supported by foreign funds, with index-linked Globe Telecom among the top picks,» said Ron Rodrigo of Accord Capital Equities.

Rodrigo said the market applauded news of a budget deficit in August of 11. 7 billion pesos, down from July’s 19.29 billion pesos, and 35 percent lower than the same month a year ago.

Globe Telecom, the country’s second largest mobile phone service provider, rose 35 pesos to 1,085 while rival Philippine Long Distance Telephone was unchanged at 1,330 pesos.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed up 0.18 percent Wednesday at another record high, dealers said.

The NZSX50 gross index was up 5.01 points to 2,799.75 on turnover of 132.7 million New Zealand dollars (86.6 million US dollars).

«It had a very strong day in defiance of the rest of the world yesterday and today it kicked on,» said Goldman Sachs JBWere broker Joe Gallagher.

The rally so far this week has been underpinned by market leader Telecom which gained another two cents to 5.90 dollars.

Gallagher said Telecom had been oversold recently, especially in relation to Telstra, and there had been some switching out of the Australian telco into the better yielding Telecom.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare continued its strong performance since its release of two new products, rising 15 cents to 14.75 dollars.

BOMBAY: Indian stock prices closed up 0.20 percent Wednesday after media reports said the government was considering easing restrictions on foreign investment in the banking sector, dealers said.

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark 30-share Sensex rose 10.94 points to close at 5,616.87.