Thu, Aug 27 2009, 01:49 GMT
http://www.djnewswires.com/eu
CORRECT: Asian Shares Mostly Lower; Mkts Running Out Of Steam
("=Asian Shares Mostly Lower; Markets Running Out Of Steam," published at 0107 GMT misspelled the name of Mizuho Securities' senior technical analyst. A corrected version of the full story follows.)
By Matthew Allen
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday, succumbing to some profit-taking after Wall Street's limp showing, though losses weren't too severe as positive economic data from the U.S. bolstered sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched higher to close up 0.04% after new home sales data and durable goods orders for July beat expectations.
Analysts said Wall Street's tepid reaction to the positive data showed that the markets' recent uptrend may be running out of steam.
"Signals from Wall Street are somewhat negative, because the market wasn't lifted by better-than-expected economic data," said Mizuho Securities senior technical analyst Yutaka Miura. "The U.S. market may be facing stronger resistance now," he added.
"It's good to see improving signs of U.S. housing markets, but they are not data that can ignite new hopes, but numbers that just confirmed previous expectations for the economic recovery," said Jung Seung-jae at Mirae Asset Securities in Seoul.
Japan's Nikkei was down 1.5%, Australia's S&P/ASX 20 was 0.6% lower, while South Korea's Kospi Composite lost 0.6%. New Zealand's NZX-50 was flat. DJIA futures were 19 points lower in screen trade.
Australian stocks were lower, on the back of Wednesday weakness in materials, industrial and financial stocks in the U.S. Resources stocks were accounting for nearly half the fall of Sydney's benchmark index.
As Australia's exports of raw materials such as iron ore are highly leveraged to Chinese demand, there was some concerns about Wednesday's comments from China's State Council that it will tighten the approval process for investment projects in traditional industries, in response to overcapacity.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton were down 2.7% and 1.4%, respectively. Westpac bank was down 0.1% and National Australia Bank was up 0.1%.
In Japan, shipping, steel, and trading house stocks were particularly weak after leading the market's rally Wednesday.
JFE Holdings was down 1.4%. Nippon Yusen was down 1.5%. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines was 1.4% lower and Mitsui & Co. was down 2.0%.
The South Korean market was following Wall Street's lead and taking a break, with profit being booked in tech names and banks. "The Kospi is taking a breather, in line with the U.S. markets, which took a rest overnight," said Lee Kyung-soo at Taurus Investment & Securities. However, the market was expected to move in tandem with Chinese stocks later in the day, as has been the recent trading trend.
Shinhan Financial was down 1.8%. Samsung Electronics was 0.8% lower and Hyundai Motor was down 1.0% after recording historic highs earlier this week.
In New Zealand, stocks were trading on mixed earnings cues.
Chemicals maker Nuplex Industries surged 12% as investors cheered the company's fiscal year results.
Air New Zealand was down 2.4% after it posted sharply lower full-year net profits. The carrier's Chairman John Palmer said the airline market remains turbulent and while demand was stabilizing, margins remained under significant pressure.
Foreign exchange markets were shying away from the risk-sensitive euro as the Japanese stock market weakened. The single unit was at $1.4232, compared with $1.4245 late in New York Wednesday, it was buying Y133.72 compared with Y134.09. The dollar was buying Y93.90 from Y94.13.
Though higher-yielding currencies like the euro usually benefit from strong U.S. data, the dollar gained against the single currency in New York Wednesday after reports showed sales of new single-family homes in July increased by 9.6%, well above projections for a 1.6% gain.
"We stress again that it's still too early to say that the negative correlation between U.S. stocks and the dollar is over, but we think more and more days like Tuesday and Wednesday will be seen in the months ahead," said Brown Brothers Harriman in a note.
Base metals were slightly higher in early Asian trade after pulling back on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday. The market was well supported as sentiment was improving along with economic data, though reports China State Council was seeing overcapacity and "blind investment" in some industries was adding some caution.
LME three-month copper was up $16 at $6,307 per ton after closing $19 lower in London. Three month aluminum was up $5 at $1,872 per ton.
Spot gold was down $1.85 at $943.65 per troy ounce. The October Nymex crude oil futures contract was 33 cents lower at $71.10 per barrel.
-Matthew Allen, Dow Jones Newswires; +65-6415-4140; matthew.allen@dowjones.com
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