Asia Roundup: Broadly lower due toprofit-taking

Published: 2009/12/09

HONG KONG: Asian markets fell yesterday after comments by the US Federal Reserve chief about a slow recovery gave investors reason to cash in on strong regional rallies last week.

TOKYO: Down 0.27 per cent. The Nikkei-225 fell 27.13 points to 10,140.47.

"It's natural that the market took a breather after six straight days of rises until yesterday (Monday)," said Hideaki Higashi, a strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.

SYDNEY: Down 0.13 per cent. The SP/ASX200 dropped 5.9 points to 4,670.6.

"The financial sector held the market back as poor leads from their US counterparts weighed," said Ben Potter, research analyst at IG Markets.

SHANGHAI: Down 1.06 per cent. The composite index fell 35.23 points to 3,296.66.

"Equity fund raising is pressuring the market that already saw strong gains in recent days," Li Nian, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo, told Dow Jones Newswires.

SEOUL: Down 0.30 per cent. The Kospi ended down 4.87 points at 1,627.78.

Investors are expected to remain on the sidelines until the outcome of the Bank of Korea's meeting and the expiration of stock futures and options tomorrow, analysts said.

TAIPEI: Flat. The weighted index fell 6.93 points, or 0.09 per cent to 7,768.71.

"Individual investors turned to active small caps as they found buying was not strong enough to push through 7,800 points," said Steven Huang of President Securities.

BANGKOK: Down 0.39 per cent. The composite index fell 2.76 points to 698.82 while the blue-chip index was down 2.19 points at 490.36.

Kavee Chukitkasem, an analyst at Kasikorn Securities, said the market swung narrowly as there were no strong leads.

JAKARTA: Flat. The composite index added 0.14 points to 2,483.89.

"Foreign buying lifted the main index from its low and kept overall sentiment healthy," a trader told Dow Jones Newswires.

MANILA: Down 1.13 per cent. The composite index lost 34.56 points to close at 3,012.07 and the all-share index shed 1.06 per cent, or 20.08 points, to close at 1,876.

"Fundamentally, things are still looking up," Astro del Castillo of First Grade Holdings told Dow Jones Newswires. "What we are witnessing is a healthy consolidation."

MUMBAI: Up 1.44 per cent. The 30-share Sensex rose 244.54 points at 17,277.68.

"Buying picked up in afternoon trade. The market is set to consolidate," said Avinash Gupta of financial services firm Bonanza Portfolio. - AFP