Mixed start of the week for Asia

India and China record gains, Japan stocks tumble 6% amid quake aftermath

The Asian markets witnessed a mixed outing today though the overall sentiments were hurt after the devastating 8.9 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan on Friday. The earthquake and the ensuing tsunamis have lead to a loss of around 10000 lives and the natural calamity is being held as the worst disaster for the second largest economy in Asia since World War II. Today, media reports stated that a hydrogen explosion rocked Japan's stricken Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima - second such blast in three days. The US stocks had a good outing on Friday, with bargain hunting leading the index linked counters higher after the stocks hit one-month closing on Thursday. The Dow added 59.48 points or 0.5 percent to close at 12,044.09.



Meanwhile, the political unrest in Libya is persisting. The unrelenting stance of the Qadhafi government and a lack of consensus among the global powers over whether any intervention is advisable have led to a deadlock and there are fears that the more the conflict rages, there is a better chance of Qadhafi prevailing as his brute force would jettison the protestors.

This ensured that the week starts on a somber note for the Asian markets. Japanese stocks were pummeled as expected, dropping more than 6% in early moves and holding onto the initial setback throughout the day. The Japanese yen, on the other hand, rose and kept it very difficult for the exporters to witness any sort of bargain buying. Japan's Nikkei 225 plunged 617.18 points or 6.02% to 9,637.25. On the economic front, a monthly survey conducted by Cabinet Office in Japan revealed that consumer sentiment weakened in February. Overall consumer sentiment fell to 40.7 in February from 41.1 in the previous month. At the same time, households' confidence came in at 40.6, down from 41.1 in January. Within the households' sentiment index, overall livelihood fell to 41.5 from 42.7 in January and income growth eased to 40.6 from 41

In Australia, the markets were off to a weak start on the first trading session of the week. The resources stayed lower and mid session gains were cut back on persistent selling pressure. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index dropped 18.40 points, or 0.40%, to close at 4,626.40 points by the close.

In China, the broad markets edged higher despite gloomy sentiments in world markets as coal and steel counters went up, pushing the benchmark Shanghai Composite index above 2900 points level. The barometer added 5.11 points or 0.17% to close at 2938.91 points.

In Mumbai, frenzied buying propelled the key benchmark indices to fresh day's high in late trade as a decline in crude oil prices offset the latest data showing higher headline inflation in February 2011. Reports that the Union Cabinet is likely consider a Constitution Amendment Bill tomorrow, 15 March 2011, to pave the way for implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), also boosted sentiments. The GST is a major indirect tax reform. European markets and US index futures were off day's lows and most Asian markets settled higher after a subdued start even as Japanese stocks tumbled as investors continued to assess the financial impact of Friday's (11 March 2011) devastating earthquake that hit Japan. As per provisional closing, the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 281.60 points or 1.55% to 18,455.69.

In other markets, Straits Times index in Singapore dropped 0.26%, Seoul Composite index in South Korea edged up 0.80% while Taiwan Weighted index in Taiwan shed 0.56%. In commodities, crude oil futures fell under $100 per barrel for the WTI variety in New York and currently quote at $99.36, down $1.80 per ounce on the day. Gold is quoting with little change, holding around $1425 per ounce mark as buying support emerged after prices tested lows under $1420 per ounce. Dollar gained slightly today after cutting its gains on Friday after the European leaders announced their collective support to the debt laden PIIGS nations.