Asian stocks fall further on Wall Street decline

BEIJING  — Asian markets fell further Friday after overnight declines on Wall Street, weaker Chinese manufacturing and gloomy outlooks for South Korean automakers.

Oil edged up to stay above $95 a barrel after suffering its biggest one-day drop in 14 months.

Major indexes closed out 2013 at or near record highs, but investors seemed reluctant to chase more gains in the new year.

China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.4 percent to 2,101.30, adding to the previous day’s 0.3 percent loss after an HSBC Corp. survey showed manufacturing activity weakened in December. Analysts said that suggested China’s modest economic recovery might be fading.

“We expect the upcoming set of data releases to show China’s economy losing steam in December,” said UBS economist Tao Wang in a report.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 1.2 percent to 23,045.5.

South Korea’s Kospi gave up 0.8 percent to 1,950.98 after Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. said they expect 2014 to see their weakest sales growth in a decade.

Tokyo was closed for the last day of its New Year’s break.

Investors looked ahead to comments later Friday by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Barnanke for indications about the possible pace of further reductions in monetary stimulus.

Elsewhere, Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.5 percent to 8,572.16 and Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 declined 0.5 percent to 5,341.50. Singapore and Malaysia also fell.

New Zealand bucked the trend to add 0.5 percent to 5,129.26.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks fell despite data showing healthy December manufacturing growth. Analysts said prices were bound to pull back after higher corporate profits and Fed stimulus pushed markets to record levels in 2013.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index turned in its worst performance in three weeks, declining 0.9 percent. The Dow Jones and the Nasdaq both slid 0.8 percent.

In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 closed down 0.5 percent on Thursday while France’s CAC-40 and Germany’s DAX both shed 1.6 percent.

In currency markets, the U.S. dollar edged up 104.8 yen. The euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.366.

Benchmark oil for February delivery gained 13 cents a barrel to $95.57 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract plunged $2.98 the previous day to settle at $95.44.

source: business.inquirer.net

Dow ends at new record after topping 16,000 mark

NEW YORK CITY—The Dow edged higher to a fresh record Monday after topping 16,000 for the first time, while the S&P 500 breached 1,800 but pulled back in late trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a meager gain of 14.32 points (0.09 percent) at 15,976.02 after reaching an intraday high of 16,030.28 shortly after the market opened. It was the blue-chip Dow’s fourth consecutive record close.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 6.65 (0.37 percent) at 1,791.53, falling heavily in late-afternoon trade after earlier scaling above 1,800 for the first time.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 36.90 (0.93 percent) at 3,949.07.

“Stocks turned lower in the final hour of trading after Carl Icahn expressed a cautious outlook on equity markets,” Wells Fargo Advisors said in a market note. “The comments added to existing trepidation following a six-week rally on the S&P” and ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s late Tuesday, the firm said.

Art Hogan, head of product strategy for equity research at Lazard Capital Markets, said Sunday’s news of major airplane orders for Boeing and Airbus catalyzed markets.

Dow member Boeing rose 1.7 percent after winning more than $100 billion in new airplane orders at the Dubai Airshow on Sunday.

JPMorgan Chase, another Dow component, rose 1.6 percent after announcing a $4.5 billion settlement Friday to compensate 21 institutional investors for losses on mortgage securities it and Bear Stearns sold before the financial crisis.

Microsoft, another blue chip, retreated 1.7 percent after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded it to “underperform” citing “transition risk” over the company’s search for a new chief executive to replace outgoing head Steve Ballmer.

Heavyweight Apple dropped 1.2 percent on the Nasdaq. Other tech stocks stumbled. Facebook tumbled 6.5 percent, Tesla sank 10.2 percent and Netflix lost 2.3 percent.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury dropped to 2.68 percent from 2.71 percent Friday, while the 30-year dipped to 3.77 percent from 3.80 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

source: business.inquirer.net

Dollar edges down in Asia ahead of Yellen remarks – Lead

TOKYO- The dollar edged down in Asia Wednesday, taking a breather from a rally driven by speculation the Fed will soon start tapering its huge stimulus drive.

The greenback bought 99.48 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, weakening from 99.62 yen in New York Tuesday.

The euro strengthened to $1.3447 from $1.3433 while it bought 133.76 yen compared with 133.82 yen in US trade.

Dealers are awaiting remarks Thursday from Janet Yellen, President Barack Obama’s nominee to succeed Chairman Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve, said a senior dealer at a major bank in Tokyo.

Some investors want to push the dollar above the 100-yen mark but “many of us just don’t want to make aggressive moves before we confirm Ms Yellen makes no negative surprises,” the dealer said.

Yellen will appear before US senators Thursday to defend her nomination as Fed policymakers debate whether the stimulus policy known as quantitative easing is still needed to support the world’s largest economy.

The central bank will hold its regular two-day policy meeting next month after upbeat US data fuelled speculation that it could start tapering its $85-billion-a-month bond-buying program before year’s end.

Traders also are awaiting eurozone industrial production figures for September, due later Wednesday, which will be followed by July-September economic growth data on Thursday.

The dollar was higher against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It rose to Sg$1.2495 from Sg$1.2486 on Tuesday, to Tw$29.59 from Tw$29.56, to 63.73 Indian rupees from 63.53 rupees, and to 43.77 Philippine pesos from 43.70 pesos.

The greenback inched up to 31.59 Thai baht from 31.57 baht and to 1,072.93 South Korean won from 1,071.20 won.

The Australian dollar fell to 93.04 US cents from 93.29 cents, while the Chinese yuan was at 16.30 yen against 16.31 yen.

source: business.inquirer.net