Mixed outing for Asian stocks

Overnight cues cap buying, investors seek more cues on European front

Asian markets ended mixed as the US dollar came off its four-month lows and commodities edged marginally upwards. The overnight cues were negative though and the buying enthusiasm was mostly curbed as investors sought out more clarity on the Euro zone debt issues. US stocks continued to turn lower as investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the unofficial kickoff of earnings season after the close. Marking its third straight session of declines, the Dow dropped 37.31 points, or 0.3%, to 11,637.45.



The stock markets in Australia turned lower after recording small gains in the last session as the investors eyed escalating flood concerns in Queensland and worries that commodity prices could drop from overblown levels from hereon. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index dropped 1.60 points, or 0.03% to close at 4,711 points. The losses were capped as results of a survey conducted by the ANZ Bank revealed that the total number of job advertisements in the country was up 2.0% in December compared to the previous month, standing at 188,614. That followed a revised 3.0% monthly gain in November, which had been originally reported as higher by 2.9%.

In Japan, the stocks slipped after markets opened after a public holiday yesterday and factored in the developments in the world markets and economy over the weekends, primarily the not very impressive US non-farm payrolls. The benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 30.36 points, or 0.29%, to wind up at 10,511. On the economic front, preliminary data released by the Cabinet Office in Japan revealed that the leading index rose to 101 in November from 97.7 recorded for the previous month. Economists were expecting the reading to rise to 100.9 for the month.

Stocks in China had a good time as bargain hunting emerged after a massive drop in the last session. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended in positive territory with a modest gain of 13.03 points, or 0.47% to close at 2,805.40. Traders eyed the latest data showing that new Yuan-denominated lending in China reached 7.95 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion) last year, down 1.65 trillion yuan than the 2009 level. It reflected that the massive efforts from the country's central bank in reining in the reckless lending spree could be working.

In Mumbai, wild intraday swings were the order of the day in the second half of the trading session, with the market recovering from a 6-week trough. As per provisional closing, the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 109.29 points or 0.57% to 19,333.41. The Sensex gained 207.44 points at the day's high of 19,431.56 in early trade. The index lost 220.52 points at the day's low of 19,003.60 in late trade, its lowest level since 26 November 2010.

In other markets, the Straits Times in Singapore added 0.38%, Seoul Composite in South Korea gained 0.26% while the Taiex in Taiwan soared 1.30%. Crude oil rose but the gains were tepid and prices stayed under $90 per barrel.