Asian shares mixed, dollar up after Wall St losses

Screengrab from Google Finance

HONG KONG—Asian markets were mixed in quiet trade on Wednesday following another record close on Wall Street, while the euro rallied after a deal was agreed in Germany to form a coalition government.

Investors seemed little moved in early exchanges by news that two US B-52 bombers flew over a disputed area of the East China Sea without telling Beijing, in a challenge to China’s newly declared air defense identification zone.

Tokyo slipped 0.42 percent, or 65.61 points, to 15,449.63 and Sydney eased 0.45 percent, or 24.1 points, to 5,332.9 but Seoul ended up 0.31 percent, or 6.17 points, at 2,028.81 points, while Shanghai added 0.82 percent, or 18.00 points, to 2,201.07.

Hong Kong climbed 0.53 percent, or 125.07 points, to 23,806.35.

With the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States closing markets on Thursday and half of Friday, analysts said dealers on Wall Street are beginning to wind down, which is having a knock-on effect globally.

However, on Tuesday the tech-rich Nasdaq jumped 0.58 percent to 4,017.75, the first time it has ended above 4,000 since the 2000 dot com bust. The Dow added 0.26 points to end at another record high, while the S&P 500, which last week broke 1,800 for the first time, edged up 0.01 percent.

The gains came despite data from the Conference Board showing US consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level since April, suggesting the deal in Washington to avert a debt default last month failed to reassure people.

BK Asset Management currency analyst Kathy Lien said the data will be noted at the Federal Reserve, which is yet to announce when it will start winding down its stimulus programme.

“Even if there are more jobs, consumers need to be confident to spend,” she told Dow Jones Newswires, adding that “retailers are worried that this holiday shopping season could be the weakest since 2009,” during the global financial crisis.

She said that if they are right the Fed would not be able to begin its “taper” this year, putting downward pressure on the dollar.

The greenback sank in New York after the release of the confidence figures, ending Tuesday at 101.31 yen, compared with 101.51 yen earlier in the day in Asia.

However, on Wednesday it was up at 101.65 yen.

The euro surged $1.3596 and a four-year-high 138.16 yen at one point in Asia on news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had agreed to form a coalition government, ending two months of uncertainty in Europe’s biggest economy after a general election.

Traders were also lifted by speculation the European Central Bank will hold off any new monetary easing measures at its next policy meeting, after cutting rates to a record low earlier this month.

The single currency eased to $1.3575 and 138.01 yen in the late afternoon, compared with $1.3569 and 137.46 yen in New York on Tuesday.

On oil markets, Brent stabilised after briefly tumbling more than two percent on Monday in response to Iran’s nuclear deal, which had fueled fears of a crude supply glut. In afternoon exchanges the contract for January was down 22 cents at $110.66.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for January eased 32 cents to $93.36.

Gold fetched $1,252.73 per ounce at 1135 GMT compared with $1,250.87 on Tuesday.

In other markets:

— Bangkok rose 1.06 percent, or 14.42 points, to 1,373.11.

Coal producer Banpu gained 2.59 percent or 0.75 baht to 29.75 baht and PTT Plc rose 1.37 percent, or 4 baht, to 295 baht.

— Jakarta added 0.38 percent, or 16.23 points, to 4,251.49.

Asia Pacific Fibers rose 2.56 percent to 80 rupiah, while Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper lost 1.96 percent to 1,500 rupiah.

— Kuala Lumpur rose 0.02 percent, or 0.33 points, to 1,798.46.

Genting Malaysia ended 3.2 percent higher at 4.23 ringgit while RHB Capital lost 1.8 percent to 7.71.

— Manila climbed 0.47 percent, adding 28.50 points to 6,053.87.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone rose 0.85 percent to 2,604 pesos, JG Summit added 1.80 percent to 39.55 pesos and Metropolitan Bank ended 1.56 percent up to 75 pesos.

— Mumbai slipped 0.02 percent, or 4.76 points, to 20,420.26.

Pharma firm Wockhardt slid 8.87 percent to 430.15 rupees and Jet Airways fell 4.11 percent to 293.8 rupees.

— Singapore slipped 0.05 percent, or 1.45 points, to 3,172.06.

Singapore Telecom rose 1.90 percent to Sg$3.76 while real estate developer Capitaland eased 0.33 percent to Sg$3.01.

— Taipei rose 0.58 percent, or 47.86 points, to 8,295.88.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. climbed 1.45 percent to Tw$105.0 while Taiwan Cement was 3.21 percent higher at Tw$45.0.

— Wellington rose 0.18 percent, or 8.60 points, to 4,799.35.

Fletcher Building climbed 0.3 percent to NZ$9.22, Telecom added 2.4 percent to NZ$2.31 and Air New Zealand was 0.9 percent higher at NZ$1.64.—Danny McCord

Originally posted at 12:06 pm | Wednesday, November 27,  2013