Asian stocks stumble on fear of US swings

Nikkei down 0.73%; Hang Seng 1.01% and Shanghai Composite index falls 0.17%
 
HONG KONG: Asian stocks closed lower across the region with benchmarks tumbling off record highs on Friday, following overnight falls on Wall Street and fears of a major correction.

Underpinning trade were consistent warnings that markets have gone too far too fast over recent weeks, as concerns over a possible credit squeeze in the US due to problems in subprime mortgages continued to recede.

This prompted profit taking in New York after the Dow Jones struck another record high and markets in the Asia-Pacific followed suit with Taipei slumping 2.07%, Seoul shed 1.67% and Tokyo was off 0.73%.

Hong Kong fell 1.01% and Shanghai’s latest run of historic highs came to an end with a 0.17 % fall. Singapore was off 0.45%, Sydney fell 0.3%, Kuala Lumpur shed 0.6% and Bangkok was down 0.23%.

Only Wellington bucked the trend with 0.21% rise on support for electricity generators. Jakarta and Manila were closed for religious holidays.

Tokyo: Japanese share prices closed down 0.73% as investors pocketed gains a day after the market hit the highest level for over two months. Dealers said modest losses overnight on Wall Street added to the cautious mood here ahead of the weekend.

The Nikkei-225 index lost 127.81 points to 17,331.17. Turnover fell to 1.92 billion shares from 2.08 billion on Thursday. It was natural for the market to take a breather after recent gains and ahead of the weekend, said Toyo Securities strategist Hiroaki Hiwada.

Hong Kong: Share prices closed down 1.01%, as investors locked in profits amid speculation that China might announce new measures to cool its economy.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 294.65 points at 28,838.37. Turnover was the second-largest ever, at 195.28 billion Hong Kong dollars ($25.17 billion).

Xinjiang Xinxin Mining was in focus as it more than doubled from the IPO price on the first day of trading.

Shanghai: Chinese share prices closed 0.17% lower as the market was hit by profit-taking after touching a new intra-day record high.

Dealers said the volatile trade at one point saw the benchmark Shanghai index slip more than 4.2% after meeting with strong resistance near the key psychological 6,000-points level.

“The market has accumulated much risk after the Shanghai Composite Index closed at new records for four days,” said Shen Jun, an analyst at Bank of China International.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended down 9.97 points at 5,903.26. Turnover rose to 219.29 billion yuan ($28.85 billion) from 177.99 billion yuan in the previous session.

Taipei: Taiwan share prices slumped 2.07% as Wall Street’s overnight fall set the tone for local trade from the opening bell and continued to influence sentiment throughout the session.

Dealers said financial and technology heavyweights led the downturn, with investors opting to cash out after the market had repeatedly tried and failed to breach the year’s high of 9,807 points hit on July 26.

The weighted index closed down 201.20 points at 9,496.47 on turnover of 153.32 billion Taiwan dollars ($4.70 billion).