Asian-Pacific Shares Are Mixed; Bank, Steel Shares Boost Nikkei
May 04, 2011
Stronger bank and steel shares in Tokyo boosted the market there, while issues in Hong Kong rose on a late burst of buying in banking and property stocks. Philippine shares gained as foreign investors continued buying across the board. Meanwhile, weaker blue chips led the Australian bourse down. Taiwan stocks fell as investors took profits. Shares in South Korea declined for the eighth-straight session, marking the market's longest losing streak in nearly three years. Malaysian shares fell as investors realized that the market's recent bullishness was mainly due to buying by Japanese funds. Stocks in Singapore were mixed as buying momentum ebbed. Indonesian shares were boosted by news that pro-democracy leader Parks Lira's lawyers are considering an out-of-court settlement for her lawsuit against the government. Meanwhile, profit-taking weakened stocks in Thailand. At the end of trading Thursday in Asia, the Dow Jones China 88 Index was down 2.17 to 96, after climbing 2.88 Wednesday. The Dow Jones Shanghai Index fell 2.03 to 103.46, after rising 1.91 the previous day. The Dow Jones Shenzhen Index slipped 2.95 to 103.09, after rising 4.79 the previous day. In dollar terms, the Asian-Pacific sector of the Dow Jones World Stock Index climbed 0.71 to 118.86 Thursday, after rising 0.98 Wednesday. The world as a whole rose 0.93 to 140.33, after gaining 0.23 the previous day. Biotechnology and semiconductor shares led industry groups on the Dow Jones Global Industry Groups, while oil-drilling and tobacco issues were among the laggers. Asian Stock Market Indexes Market IndexAug. 22Change Australia
