Asian-Pacific Shares Are Mixed; Thailand Slips 2.6% on Rumors
May 18, 2011
In Tokyo, shares rebounded on strong buying by domestic investors. Stocks in Hong Kong slid as investors traded cautiously ahead of the release of key U.S. job data this week. The Thai market slid 2.6% as investors reacted to market rumors that several finance and securities companies are on the verge of collapse. Philippine shares fell as fears of a possible U.S. interest-rate increase and continuing U.S.-Iraq hostilities kept foreign investors sidelined. The U.S.-Iraq tensions also kept investors from trading on the Indonesian bourse, weakening the key index there. Meanwhile, Australian issues dropped because of weakness in several mining shares. Taiwan stocks jumped as investors went bargain-hunting across the board. Shares in South Korea declined as investors became cautious over the market's recent surge. Malaysian shares were mixed as investors avoided trading. Stocks in Singapore rose slightly amid thin trading volume. At the end of trading in Asia Thursday, the Dow Jones China 88 Index slid 2.03 to 99.03, after rising 1.95 Wednesday. The Dow Jones Shanghai Index climbed 0.27 to 104.90, after climbing 1.77 to 104.63 the previous day. The Dow Jones Shenzhen Index slipped 5.84 to 109.42, after gaining 2.74 the previous day. In dollar terms, the Asian-Pacific sector of the Dow Jones World Stock Index rose 0.60 to 114.46 Thursday, after rising 0.28 Wednesday. The world as a whole fell 0.38 to 136.93, after gaining 0.44 the previous day. Pollution and shipbuilding shares led the Dow Jones Global Industry Groups, while apparel and biotechnology issues were among the laggers.
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