Asian Markets Close The Week On Mixed Note

Nikkei, New Zealand close lower while Shanghai, Hang Seng post good gains

The stock markets across the Asian region closed mixed after Wall Street suffered a late session sell-off overnight as dismal economic data pointed to a deepening of the economic recession. On Wall Street, The Dow closed down 215.5 points or 2.5% at 8,376.2, the Nasdaq shed 46.8 points or 3.1% to 1,445.6 and the S&P 500 closed down 25.5 points or 2.9% at 845.2. Investors in Asia were also cautious ahead of the U.S. jobs data scheduled for release later in the day.

In the commodity market, crude oil prices rose above $44 a barrel in Asian trade Friday. Oil was quoted at $44.06 a barrel, up $0.42, by 4.55 a.m. ET after the contract for January delivery plunged $3.12 or 6.7% to its lowest level in almost four years to $43.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday - the lowest settlement price since January 2005.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to lower 92-yen levels in late Tokyo deals. The dollar was quoted at 92.29-92.32 yen, down from the mid 92-yen range in early trade and upper 92-yen range late Thursday.

The Australian dollar closed slightly weaker as financial markets awaited potentially dire jobs data from the U.S. on Friday night. The Aussie finished the session at US$0.6442-0.6445, down from Thursday's close of US$0.6449-0.6454.

The New Zealand dollar closed slightly higher against the greenback. The kiwi finished the session at US$0.5337 compared to US$0.5327 in early trade and US$0.5325 late Thursday.

The South Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar. The won finished the domestic session at 1,475.5 a dollar compared to Thursday's close of 1,477.0 a dollar.

The Taiwan dollar closed at 33.493 to the US dollar, compared with the previous close of 33.550.

The dollar moved off against the Philippine peso after hitting a 2-day high in early Asian deals on Friday. The pair, which closed yesterday's deals at 49.29, is presently trading at 49.1650.

Coming back in equities, the Japanese stock market closed slightly lower. The key Nikkei index traded in positive territory for most part of the trading session, despite Wall Street's sharp overnight sell-off, possibly due to buying by government-controlled funds.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 6.73 points or 0.08% to 7,917.5, extending yesterday's losses. Stocks lost about 7% for the week. It is the smallest change since 30 July 2008, when it rose 0.07%. The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues fell 2.86 points or 0.36% to 786.02.

In Mainland China, the stocks ended higher because of hopes that a meeting of top economic planners early next week would produce more government action to aid the economy. The Shanghai Composite Index fluctuated around its previous close before finishing up 0.86% at 2,018.656 points. The smaller Shenzhen Component Index added 13.28 points or 2.26% to close at 600.71.

In Hong Kong, the share prices close higher as Chinese property and financial stocks rallied on talks Beijing may further ease key interest rates and cut reserve requirements on bank deposits to spur the economy. The Hang Seng index closed up 336.31 points or 2.49 pct at 13,846.09. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index was up 201.35 points or 2.79% at 7,428.54.

The Australian stock market closed lower, as resources stocks fell following a big drop in crude oil prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 42.50 points or 1.20% to 3,489.90, extending yesterday's mild losses. The broader All Ordinaries index shed 40.90 points or 1.18% to 3,427.20. For the week, the ASX 200 index lost about 6.8%, giving up most of last week's record 9.5% advance. The broader All Ordinaries index fell 6.7% for the week.

On the economic front, the performance of construction index, published by the Australian Industry Group and Housing Industry Association, stood at 32.0 in November, down 4.4 points from the month before. A reading below 50.0 indicates contraction of activity in the sector.

The New Zealand stock market closed lower for the first time in three days. The benchmark NZX 50 index closed down 23.96 points or 0.88% at 2,706.72 and the broader NZX All Capital index lost 23.3 points or 0.9% to finish at 2,732.4.

The South Korean stock market closed sharply higher, ending a four-day losing streak. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index or Kospi climbed 21.59 points or 2.14% to 1,028.13.

In economic news, a report released by the Credit Finance Association showed that credit card spending in South Korea declined 3.5% in November to 25.0 trillion won from a month earlier amid a deepening economic slump.

Meanwhile, reports also indicated that South Korea is planning to buy bad loans from local banks and other financial companies. On Wednesday, the government had said that the state-run Korea Asset Management Corporation would purchase 1.3 trillion won worth of loans extended by savings banks to finance real estate projects that are highly likely to turn sour.

In Philippines, the stock market continued its downward momentum closing the week on a negative note. The benchmark index PSEi trimmed 0.10% or 1.93 points to 1,888.96.

On the economic front, Philippines annual inflation rate eased to 9.9% in November, which the central bank chief said offered authorities leeway in setting interest rates. Month on month inflation dropped by 0.6% in November from a drop of 0.4% registered in October and September.

Core inflation, which strips out some volatile food and fuel items, came in at 7.9% in November - the highest since March 2005 and above the 7.8% recorded in October. But central bank governor Amando Tetangco said core inflation appeared to be losing steam.

In another release the gross international reserves (GIR) showed a rise to US$36.2 billion end November 2008 from US$36 billion a month ago.

In Taiwan, stock markets closed lower in thin trading as gains in financial and tourism stocks were offset by continued weakness in the technology sector. Financial heavyweights outperformed on expectations that they would benefit from a memorandum of understanding on financial supervision likely to be signed by Taiwan and China early next year. Tourism shares also attracted buying on signs that greater numbers of mainland Chinese tourists are taking advantage of more convenient air links across the Taiwan Strait.

The weighted index closed down 29.89 points or 0.7% at 4,225.07, off a high of 4,261.32 and a low of 4,190.02. This is the lowest closing since 20 November 2008. For the week, the index fell 235.42 points, or 5.28%.

In India, concerns about the weakening global economy, lower European markets, fall in US index futures and media reports of a shootout at New Delhi's international airport, pulled the Indian market to a fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. At 15.14 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 265.37 points, or 2.91%, shedding 371.61 points from the day's high.

Elsewhere, Singapore’s strait times gained 15.49 points or 0.94% closing the day at 1659.17; Malaysia's KLCI closed down 1.01% at 838.28 and Indonesia’s Jakarta composite closed the day 2.98 points or 0.25% lower at 1,202.34.

In other regional markets, European markets fell, paced by oil producers and mineral extractors, as investors await more signs of a contracting economy with the release of key U.S. jobs data out later in the session.

Overall, the U.K. FTSE 100 index dropped 1.8% to 4,089.27, the German DAX 30 index lost 2.9% to 4,430.16 and the French CAC-40 index declined 2.9%% to 3,071