Asian Markets ends in negative territory

Tokyo, Sydney extend losses while Shanghai stage a rebound

The stock markets across the Asian region closed lower, after Wall Street closed higher overnight, as lingering economic worries dented investor sentiment. Asian stocks fell, led by commodity producers and financials, as oil, gold and aluminum prices dropped and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group posted its lowest quarterly profit in at least four years.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks closed higher yesterday, pulling off a final-hour rebound, as Hewlett Packard's quarterly results offset negative sentiment generated by Citigroup's fall to a 13-year low on fears about widespread job cuts and weak economic data. The Dow closed up 151.2 points or 1.8% at 8,424.8, the Nasdaq gained 1.2 points or 0.1% to 1,483.3 and the S&P 500 advanced 8.4 points or 1.0% to 859.1.

In the commodity market, crude oil prices are little changed, ahead of the U.S. government's weekly inventory report. Crude oil was quoted at $53.55 a barrel, down $0.84, by 3:07 a.m. ET. On Tuesday, light, sweet crude for December delivery fell $0.56 to settle at $54.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In the currency market, the dollar traded in the upper 96-yen levels in late Tokyo deals. The dollar was quoted at 96.65- 96.70 yen, flat with its levels late Tuesday in Tokyo.

The Australian dollar closed marginally lower. The Aussie ended the session at US$0.6447, down from Tuesday's close of US$0.6460.

The New Zealand dollar closed slightly weaker against the U.S. dollar. The kiwi finished the domestic session at US$0.5502, after hitting a low of US$0.5469, compared to US$0.5495 in early trade and US$0.5505 late Tuesday.

The South Korean won gained against the greenback. The won ended the domestic session at 1,446.5 a dollar, up from Tuesday's close of 1,448.0 a dollar.

Coming back in equities, the Japanese stock market closed lower, extending its losses for a second straight trading session. The key Nikkei 225 index fell to a one-week closing low, hit by a stronger yen and fears that a bailout of U.S. automakers might not come through. Stocks got off to a firm start, taking their cue from Wall Street's gains overnight, but soon lost ground and ended in negative territory. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 55.2 points, or 0.66% at 8,273.2, recovering from the day's low of 8,115.7. The broader Topix Index of all First Section Issues shed 8.0 points or 1.0% to 834.1.

On the economic front, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that total industrial activity in Japan eased 0.1% in September compared to the previous month. On a quarterly basis, industrial activity fell 0.8% in the third quarter compared to the preceding second quarter.

The Chinese stock market rallied despite weakness among the stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region. The key index closed above the psychologically important 2,000 mark, reversing most of yesterday's losses. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 115.0 points or 6.05% to close at 2,017.47 after fluctuating between 2,023.9 and 1,883.8.

The Australian stock market closed lower for the third straight trading session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 23.6 points or 0.67% at 3,499.6 and the broader All Ordinaries index shed 29.9 points or 0.85% to 3,483.2.

Meanwhile, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that new motor vehicle sales in Australia fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5% to 80,366 units in October following a revised 0.4% monthly decline in September. On an annual basis, new vehicle sales fell 10.6% after a revised 8.6% decline in September. In another data release, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of economic activity which indicates the likely pace of growth three to nine months into the future came in at 1.1% for September, down from 3.5% in August. This marked the index's biggest drop since the mid 1980s.

The New Zealand stock market closed lower for the third consecutive day. The benchmark NZX 50 index closed down 8.3 points or 0.31% at 2,706.28 and the broader NZX All Capital index shed 10.6 points or 0.4% to close at 2,750.9. On the economic front, Statistics New Zealand reported that producer prices were higher in the third quarter of 2008. Output prices rose by 2.8% and input prices climbed 3.7% in the quarter, with the fuel-wholesaling sector contributing the most to the advances in both the indices.

The South Korean stock market closed lower for the seventh straight session on Wednesday. The market opened weak and extended its losses as worsened U.S. economic indicators dented investor sentiment. Uncertainty about the future of the shipbuilding and construction sectors also dented investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI closed down 19.34 points or 1.9% at 1,016.8.

On the economic front, South Korea's corporate bankruptcies hit a three-year high in October as more manufacturers and service firms became insolvent amid tightening financial conditions, the central bank said. The number of business failures was 321 in October compared to 118 in the previous month. This is the highest monthly figure since March 2005 when the number reached 359.

In Taiwan, stock markets continued to hover around its five year low as construction sector stocks such as Huaku went down even after the government announced to boost public spending. Taiex – the weighted index closed down 21.09 points or 0.49% at 4,284.09 - the lowest level since 22 May 2003 when it ended at 4,271.30 points.

Elsewhere, Singapore's Strait times was trading lower by 1.59% or 26.96 points at 1,665.59 while Malaysia's Kula Lumpur Composite index fell by 0.62% or 5.44 points closing the day at 877.65. In Philippines, the benchmark index PSEi went up 1.84% or 34.58 points to 1,908.18 showing a technical rebound.

In India, the BSE 30-share gave up all its gains. At 15.26 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 191.42 points, or 2.1%, to 8,745.78.

In other regional markets, European stocks traded lower in early trade, with banks getting pounded for the third straight session as investors fretted that government injections and interest-rate cuts weren't enough to put the institutions on better footing. The U.K. FTSE 100 fell 1% to 4,163.93, the German DAX 30 dropped 0.3% to 4,563.91 and the French CAC 40 lost 0.9% to 3,189.22.

Looking ahead the day is scheduled to release the October consumer price index for the US which will be released before market opens. It will be followed by October housing starts data and weekly inventory report from energy department.