Asian Markets End Mixed Ahead Of US Data Mixed trading was witnessed among the Asian markets on Wednesday with the markets in Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan ending in negative territory while the markets in Hong Kong and India ended in positive territory with minor gains. Weak closing on Wall Street in the previous session, and resurfacing Europe financial crisis impacted market sentiment. Volume was relatively lower as most traders preferred to adopt a cautious mode ahead of FOMC announcement.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell 189.19 points, or 1.9%, to 9924, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues fell 13.72 points, or 1.5%, to 881.
As many as 216 of the 225 stocks in the Nikkei index ended in negative territory with traders concerned about the debt crisis in Europe and weaker economic data in the US, that might hinder prospects for economic recovery.
Shipping stocks declined after the customary Baltic Dry Index declined to a new yearly low in the previous session. Mitsui & Co. declined 2.55%, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha fell 1.50% and Nippon Yusen plunged 3.64%.
Exporters also ended in negative territory following stronger yen. Canon Inc. fell 2.65%, Advantest Corp. lost 2.98%, Panasonic slipped 2.44%, Sharp Corp. shed 2.14% and Sony Corp. was down 0.59%.
Oil explorer Impex Corp. was a major loser, having shed 2.91%.
Automotive stocks also ended in the red on weak economic data in the US, the major export market for Japanese vehicles. Toyota Motor fell 1.67%, Honda Motor slipped 1.52%, Hino Motor lost 2.04%, Mitsubishi Motors declined 1.69% and Isuzu Motors was down 1.99%.
Mixed trading was witnessed among the large banks. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial shed 0.78%,Resona Holdings slipped 0.44%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial 0.70%. However, Mizuho Financial bucked the trend and ended in positive territory with a gain of 0.64%.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index slumped 72.20 points, or 1.58% and closed at 4,486, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,509, representing a loss of 71.90 points, or 1.57%.
On the economic front, results of a survey of Queensland resources companies revealed that at least A$25 billion in new investment and 14,500 jobs are under threat from the Australian government's proposed resource super tax. Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche says the proposed 40% tax is threatening more than half the project expansions and start-ups under consideration by survey respondents
Banks led the decline amid concerns about sustaining global economic recovery. ANZ Bank fell 1.34%, Commonwealth Bank lost 2.53%, National Australia Bank slipped 1.63% and Westpac Banking plunged 3.26%. Investment banker Macquarie Group was down 3.13%.
Resource stocks also ended weaker on concerns about super tax and its implications on growth and expansion plans. BHP Billiton lost 1.31%, Rio Tinto fell 2.18%, Fortescue Metals declined 1.56%,Gindalbie Metals shed 2.48%, Iluka Resources plunged 4.87%, Macarthur Coal slumped 5.31%,Mincor Resources was down 4.45% and Oz Minerals slipped 2.86%.
Oil stocks also ended in negative territory. Woodside Petroleum fell 1.43%, Santos Ltd declined 3.03%, ROC Oil Ltd plunged 4.23%, Oil Search Ltd shed 2.22% and Origin Energy lost 2.34%.
Gold stocks bucked the trend and ended in positive territory with minor gains. Lihir Gold advanced 0.46% and Newcrest Mining gained 0.83%.
James Hardie Industries plunged 3.46% on weak existing home sales in the U.S for May. Mixed trading was witnessed among retail stocks. David Jones slipped 0.68%, Harvey Norman shed 0.58%, Pacific Brands plunged 3.06%, Reject Shop fell 1.15%, and Woolworths lost 0.47%. However, Wesfarmers managed to remain unchanged from previous close and JB Hi-Fi gained 0.36%,In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended in positive territory with a marginal gain of 37.53 points, or 0.18%, at 20,857, on bargain hunting at lower levels following recent decline on optimism about global economic recovery. Positive trading in US futures lifted the market sentiment in late trading session on speculation that FOMC statement might provide direction to the global markets.
The Indian market ended a volatile session modestly higher on Wednesday, a day before the expiry of June series derivatives contracts. Sector-wise, while realty, healthcare, telecom, consumer durable, IT and auto stocks closed firm, capital goods and metal stocks fell, limiting the gains. After struggling in the red for most part of the session, the 30-share Sensex average finally closed up 6 points or a mere 0.04% at 17,756 and the 50-share Nifty ended up by 7 points or 0.12% at 5,323.
Among the other major markets open for trading, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 18.83 points, or 0.73%, and closed at 2,570, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index shed 9.80 points, or 0.33% to close at 2,25, Taiwan's Weighted Index slipped 30.53 points, or 0.40% to close at 7,582, and Singapore's Strait Times Index lost 6.43 points, or 0.22% to close at 2,866.
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