WSJ: Asian Shrs End Lower; Shanghai Stks' 1.9% Fall Weighs Region
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Most Asian markets ended lower Wednesday, with Chinese stocks weighed by liquidity concerns, though resource stocks were getting a boost as the falling U.S. dollar buttressed commodity prices.
The Shanghai Composite lost 1.9% to close at 2842.72 on worries that a likely surge in new share issues and lower bank lending in the remainder of the year will crimp liquidity.
Still, some analysts said they were confident that the government would step in to support the market if the correction went too far. Peter Lai, director at DBS Vickers, said although Beijing wants to avoid asset bubbles, it doesn't want to "kill the market."
"If the Shanghai Composite went below 2500, it's very likely that you would see some kind of liquidity-easing measures," he said.
Tracking the weakness in Shanghai, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.5% and Taiwan's Taiex gave up 1.2%. South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.4% and India's Sensex slipped 1.0%.
Markets in Japan were closed for Autumnal Equinox Day, while those in Indonesia and Pakistan remain shut for religious holidays. Philippines shares ended up 2.1%, Singapore's Straits Times Index was flat, and Thailand's SET Index rose 0.9%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were recently 11 points lower in screen trade.
In Sydney, Australian stocks snapped a three-session losing streak and raced to their best finish in nearly a year on a strong rebound in banking and mining shares. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.5%, gaining more than it lost in the previous three sessions.
"I think the bears are getting extraordinarily frustrated, so up days are tending to be more exaggerated than down days," said Macquarie Private Wealth Associate Director David Halliday in Sydney. "It's hard to see anything in the short term that could derail the market."
Woodside Petroleum surged 5.1%, while mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton rose 2.3% and 0.9%, respectively. The two miners have also been benefiting from target price and earnings forecast upgrades from Citigroup, after it raised its coking coal price forecast for next year to $200 per metric ton from $140 per ton.
Elsewhere, Aluminum Corp. of China rose 0.5%, Sino Gold Mining rose 0.3% and PetroChina Co. added 0.1% in Hong Kong. Korea Zinc finished up 1.1% and Sterlite Industries (India) gained 1.1% in afternoon trading.
In Hong Kong, debutante Sinopharm Group opened up 21% at HK$19.40 compared with its HK$16 initial public offering price. Sinopharm finished the day at HK$18.52 in heavy trading volumes.
Geely Automobile Holdings jumped 19% in Hong Kong as trading resumed following news a Goldman Sachs affiliate would take a stake in the company by investing in its convertible bonds and warrants.
Several regional financial stocks also edged higher, tracking gains in U.S. peers which rose ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting outcome. Shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia gained 2.3% and National Australia Bank rose 2.7%. Standard Chartered gained 1.2% in Hong Kong, Shinhan Financial added 0.3% in Seoul and HDFC Bank climbed 1.5% in Mumbai trading.
In New Zealand, blue chip stocks rose after data showed the economy grew 0.1% in the three months ended June 30, ending a five quarters-long recession. Fletcher Building was up 1%, Nuplex Industries gained 1.6% and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp. gained 1%. The NZX 50 Index rose 0.2%.
The New Zealand dollar, which had already gained nearly 2 U.S. cents against the U.S. dollar in the last 24 hours, surged even higher to $0.7255, from $0.7194 before the GDP data, which was also fueling speculation that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand could hike interest rates.
In Seoul, conglomerate Hyosung Corp. plunged by its daily limit of around 15% after it submitted a bid to buy a major stake in chip maker Hynix Semiconductor. Hynix fell 5.4%.
In commodities trading, light, sweet crude for November delivery was recently down 14 cents at $71.62 a barrel after selling $1.83, or 2.6%, higher at $71.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Spot gold was flat at $1,014.60 after moving in either direction.
After a shaky start to the day, the U.S. dollar regained lost ground as Asian stocks went into negative territory, but remains weaker overall.
The U.S. dollar was recently buying 91.05 yen, compared with 91.14 yen late in New York Tuesday. The euro was at $1.4785, compared with $1.4799, and at 134.61 yen, compared with 134.45 yen.
"It's difficult to see anything other than further weakness in the U.S. dollar from here," said Westpac foreign exchange strategist Jonathan Cavenagh. "The trend is your friend at the moment and the trend for the U.S. dollar is down," he added.
-Dow Jones Newswires; +65-6415-4140; markettalk@dowjones.com
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