Hong Kong, China shares weak, await China GDP
HONG KONG — Shares in Hong Kong and China fell yesterday, with the Shanghai index posting its fourthstraight losing session, as investors took profits on recent outperformers and awaited economic data from China today that could give clues on further policy easing.
The broader Hang Seng Index declined 1 per cent, while the China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in the territory fell 1.4 per cent after surging 6.5 per cent last week.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.7 per cent, Turnover slipped 35 and 27 per cent from Friday in Shanghai and Hong Kong, respectively, and could stay low going into the long Chinese New Year holiday next week, traders said.
Japanese stocks dropped 1.43 per cent yesterday as investor sentiment was hit by bond rating downgrades for France and other European nations, brokers said.
The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 121.66 points to close at 8,378.36. The Topix index of all first-section shares lost 1.27 per cent or 9.36 points to 725.24.
"The (Nikkei's) fall at the open was bigger than expected," Monex senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama told Dow Jones Newswires.
"The wait-and-see mood from this point will likely continue through the afternoon, as Wall Street is closed on Monday," for a national holiday, he said. Euro-related shares were lower on a weak single currency, sending down high-tech exporters. Kyocera was down 1.92 per cent at 6,100 yen with Canon down 2.23 per cent at 3,280 yen.
Australian stocks were down after French debt downgrade. Australian stocks were 1.1 per cent lower yesterday as investors responded to Standard & Poor's stripping France and Austria of their triple-a ratings on government debt.
The ASX 200 lost 48 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 4,147.
Jitters over the survival of the eurozone were felt in New Zealand, where stocks were down 0.52 per cent.
China will release data today that is expected to show economic growth moderated further in the fourth quarter to an annual 8.7 per cent, according to a Reuters poll. Beijing will also release December industrial output, investment and retail sales figures.
"We are waiting for GDP for fresh direction. If it comes in lower than expected, it's going to boost hopes of easing, but any lift from that is likely to be short term," said Jackson Wong, Tanrich Securities' vice-president of equity sales.
The Hang Seng Index finished near the bottom of a nar- row 85-point range on Monday, supported at 19,000 after being failing to breach resistance levels of around 19,242 last week.
Its near down-side target is seen at about 18,858, the level at which it closed on Jan. 9 before jumping last week.
Petrochina Co Ltd, which closed at the highest since early August in Hong Kong on Friday, slipped 0.9 per cent. CNOOC Ltd declined 1.6 per cent, while China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) lost 2.5 per cent.
Also weighing on resources stocks were lower commodities prices, on fears that mass sovereign debt rating cuts by Standard & Poor's could further aggravate euro zone funding difficulties and further dampen global growth. — Agencies