Las acciones en Asia mixtas, preocupaciones de medidas de ajuste monetario golpea a China
El CPI en China subio a 4%, el Martesel gobierno Chino aumento inesperadamente el yields de los bonos de un anioquese venden en el open market en mas de 0.05 puntos porcentuales, mientrsa el regulador del foreign exchange anuncio una serie de medidas para evitar que entre hot money al pais.
Asian Shares Mixed; Tightening Concerns Hit China
By COLIN NG And LESLIE SHAFFER
SINGAPORE—Asian shares traded mixed Wednesday with concerns Beijing may introduce fresh monetary policy tightening measures hurting markets in China, Hong Kong and Australia.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average tacked on 0.8%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.0% and South Korea's Kospi Composite rose 0.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 1.0%, while China's Shanghai Composite shed 1.1%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 20 points in screen trade.
China and Hong Kong shares slipped on concerns the People's Bank of China may deliver another interest rate hike soon after the release of China's inflation data for October, due Thursday, even as the country takes other tightening measures. The PBOC surprised markets last month by hiking interest rates to tame rising inflationary pressures.
On Tuesday, China's central bank unexpectedly raised the yield on the one-year bills it sold in its regular open market operation by more than 0.05 percentage point, while its foreign exchange regulator announced a series of measures to crack down on hot money inflows into the country.
Economists expect China's consumer price index to have risen 4% in October from a year earlier, accelerating from September's 3.6% rise, due to higher food prices.
"All eyes are on China's inflation rate. The rising bond yields have heightened concerns about an imminent interest rate hike," said Soochow Securities analyst Zhu Haomin.
Donghai Securities analyst Wang Fan said: "The stock market is surrounded by many uncertainties. Besides the rate-hike worries, investors are also concerned about the upcoming G-20 summit, of which currency issues and financial regulations will top the agenda."
Among interest-rate sensitive stocks, ICBC's Hong Kong-listed shares shed 2.1% and its Shanghai ones lost 3.1%. Property plays also fell, with mainland-listed Poly Real Estate down 4.8%, while Hong Kong-listed China Overseas Land dropped 2.7%.
In Tokyo, exporter stocks also rose in the wake of the yen's losses against the dollar Tuesday, with Canon up 2.3% and Advantest rising 2.6%.
Banks were up as well, with Mizuho FG was up 5.9%, Mitsubishi UFJ FG rose 4.5% while Sumitomo Mitsui FG was up 5.1%.
"The overall trend for a weaker dollar will not end that easily," Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, said. "But there is relief that companies are generating firm profits even when (the dollar/yen) is at current levels."
The Australian stock market reversed early gains after the Australian dollar's pullback against the U.S. dollar accelerated, with the pair flirting with a drop below parity for the first time since last week.
"I think China is key here, if you look at moves overnight by the Chinese to curb hot money inflows, this could be a precursor to tightening, plus whisper numbers of hotter than expected CPI data tomorrow could be a reason why the U.S. dollar rose today," said IG Markets institutional dealer Chris Weston.
Woodside Petroleum shed 0.9% after dropping 6.3% Tuesday on news Royal Dutch Shell sold about a third of its stake in the company. Among miners, BHP Billiton fell 0.7%, Rio Tinto lost 0.4% and Fortescue Metals shed 0.6%.
The weaker Aussie dollar also dented banks, with National Australia Bank shedding 1.1% and Westpac falling 1.1%.
Iluka added 3.3% amid a continued favorable reaction to Tuesday's mineral sands marketing briefing session. Citigroup reiterated Iluka's Buy recommendation and A$8.30 target price, citing the presentation, which talked about a "step change" in pricing for both zircon and high grade titanium dioxide feedstocks in 2011.
Korean shares were a tad higher, with auto stocks providing support on expectations a Korea-U.S. free trade agreement could be finalized as early as this week.
Removing the 2.5% tariff on Korean vehicles imported into the U.S. would be a "great boon" for the sector as it would improve price competitiveness in that important market, particularly compared with Japanese rivals, said Ko Tae-bong at IBK Securities. Hyundai Motor gained 1.7% and Kia Motors tacked on 2.0%.
But financial stocks lost ground on caution before the central bank's policy decision Thursday, with KB Financial Group down 1.7%.
Among other markets, New Zealand's NZX-50 rose 0.4%, Singapore's Straits Times Index shed 0.7%, Malaysia's KLCI lost 0.1%, Taiwan's Taiex edged up 0.1%, Indonesian shares gained 0.4% and Philippine shares lost 2.0%. Thailand's SET added 0.1% and India's Sensex fell 0.2%.
Foreign exchange majors traded in relatively tight ranges after the dollar's surge against the yen and the euro on Tuesday.
The dollar was at 81.72 yen, from 81.83 yen in late New York trade Tuesday, while the euro was at $1.3744 from $1.3755 and at 112.34 yen from 112.72 yen.
Lead December Japanese government bond futures were down 0.14 at 142.56 points, weighed by U.S. Treasurys' weakness Tuesday and the Nikkei's rise. The 10-year cash JGB yield was up 0.015 percentage point at 0.985%.
Spot gold was at $1,395.50 per troy ounce, up $2.50 from its New York close on Tuesday. December Nymex crude oil futures were down 42 cents at $86.30 per barrel on Globex.
Write to Colin Ng at
colin.ng@dowjones.com
Publicado: Mar Nov 09, 2010 7:12 pm