SINGAPORE (Dow Jones) – Asian stock markets were mixed Wednesday as initial buying interest after gains on Wall Street faded Tuesday as cautious investors took some money off the table. In Australia, mining giant BHP Billiton shares fell after its bid for the Canadian Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. was rejected.
The Japanese Nikkei Stock Average 0.2%, Australia S & P / ASX 200 was 0.1% lower, South Korea Kospi Composite was up 0.2%. Hong Kong Hang Seng Index fell 0.2% and the Shanghai Composite Index was off 0.3%, while Taiwan stock index, the benchmark was flat.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures had turned and were of a point in the screen trade.
The market in Sydney hit a session high of five in early trade, helped by strong gains in U.S. markets, despite the headline index was later pulled down by profit-taking, and 3.7% tumble heavyweight BHP Billiton.
The mining giant fell after the chief executive of Potash Corp. said Tuesday that it is not for sale, and its board rejected an unsolicited offer of 38.6 billion U.S. dollars BHP.
BHP Billiton was lost in favor of other miners, with Rio Tinto and Fortescue by 2.0% to 2.4% as investors switched to other resources stocks.
Farms were also gaining ground, with industry participants suggested BHP bid for potash to contribute to global interest in the agricultural sector to maintain.
Grain Corp was up 3.2%, 7.1% jump Elsewhere, Incitec Pivot added 2.7%, while the AWB gained 1.1% to A $ 1.45, just 5 cents shy of Canada-based company Agrium fertilizer’s A $ 1.50 per share bid unveiled Monday.
“The Australian share market is held back by BHP and the fact that we recently surpassed,” said Father Sons private client adviser Peter Morgan. “I’m more bullish on equities as a result of the acquisition cycle that can be activated by BHP bid for potash.”
Japanese stocks were helped by higher Wall Street stocks rose to exporters after the yen moved lower against the euro and the dollar Tuesday. Nikon was 1.8% and Sony rose 0.7%.
However, “because the dollar is what you Y86, there is tension in the market,” said Yumi Nishimura, a senior market analyst at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets.
Hamamatsu Photonics rose 6.5% after it was added to the MSCI World Index, Nidec Corp. rose 4.8% on news it will acquire the U.S. company Emerson Electric motors and control unit, while 12 declined Pharmaciez Ain, 4% after it announced a plan to attract capital.
China shares were lower, despite a strong debut for China Everbright Bank in Shanghai provided some support. China Everbright Bank was up 16.8% at CNY3.62, compared with its initial public offering price of CNY3.10.
Everbright Bank raised CNY18.9 billion from the sale of 6.1 billion A shares, and may give rise to another CNY2.8 billion if it uses an over-allotment option. The IPO is the second largest in China this year after the Agricultural Bank of China last month.
However, analysts Everbright the gains were not sustainable in the short term if market conditions are unfavorable. “China Everbright Bank is facing a changing market that is strong, but now heavy pressure from profit-taking at the same time,” said Li Bin, an analyst with Guolian Securities.
Developers in Hong Kong were mixed, with some profit taking erasing early gains that were driven by a government land auction of two prime sites achieving a higher than expected sales.
Cheung Kong had slipped into the red, falling 0.1% after an increase of 1.5% in early trade after it won the Argyle and Hung Hom development of sites in the auction. Sun Hung Kai Properties was up 1.6% and Sino Land was flat.
Stocks in Seoul were supported by foreign and institutional buying, but analysts were unexcited about the short term outlook thre market.
“The current increase is not that useful … the market can be linked into a dull 1720-1800 range, at least for this month unless mega strong economic data flow in the market,” said Samsung Securities analyst Chung Myoung -ji.
A handful of China-related shares such as chemical plays were particularly strong as some investors were turning their attention to China’s economic prospects in the U.S., said Shin Young Securities analyst Lee Kyung-Soo.
LG Chem was 2.9%, while SK Energy rose 1.5%.
Vietnamese stock market was taking a hit, with the benchmark of 2.0% after the country’s central bank devalued the local currency, the Dong, with 2.1% against the dollar, helping to curb the country rising trade deficit.
Investors sold on concerns that the move would hurt many local businesses by increasing the cost to repay dollar-denominated debts.
Elsewhere in the region, India’s Sensex rose 0.3%, New Zealand NZX-50 rose 0.4%, Singapore Straits Times Index added 0.2%, Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 0.2%, Philippine shares added 0.7% and Indonesia benchmark index was 0.2%.
In the currency markets, the risk of losing sensitive euro against the dollar and the Japanese yen, as regional markets came off their earlier highs.
The euro was $ 1.2839, compared with $ 1.2879 at the end of trading in New York Tuesday, and at Y109.60 from Y110.12. The dollar was Y85.37, Y85.50 out.
Lead Japanese government bond futures contract in September had turned higher and was up 0.13 at 142.83 points. The 10-year cash JGB fell 1.0 basis points at 0.925%.
Spot gold was at $ 1,225.90 per troy ounce, up $ 1.20 at the end of New York Tuesday. September Nymex crude oil futures fell 19 cents to $ 75.58 per barrel.
source:online.wsj.com
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