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Most Asian stock markets close lower |
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September 12, 2000
HONG KONG (AP) - Most Asian stock markets closed lower Monday, dragged down by last week's fall on Wall Street. The Japanese benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average shed 370.65 points, or 2.25 percent, to 16,130.90. On Friday, the average closed up 201.09 points, or 1.23 percent. The Nikkei index fell after the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 119.90 to 3,978.45 at Friday's finish. Also on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 39.22 to close Friday at 11,220.65. The Nikkei's decline came despite the release of better-than-expected Japanese gross domestic product data just before the market opened. The Economic Planning Agency said that Japan's GDP - the sum of all goods and services produced - grew 1.0 percent in the April-July period, higher than the 0.7 percent forecast by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. That followed on growth of 2.5 percent in the January-March period. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted at 106.20 yen, up 0.84 yen from late Friday but just shy of its late New York level of 106.21 yen on Friday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 267.47 points, or 1.6 percent, closing at 17,007.98. On Friday, the index had lost 156.50 points, or 0.9 percent. The Hong Kong market was also hurt by Friday's tumble in U.S. technology stocks. Thai share prices closed sharply lower on selling mainly in the communications and electronics sectors. The Stock Exchange of Thailand's SET index fell 6.73 point, or 2.3 percent, to 290.34. Elsewhere: TAIPEI: Taiwan shares closed at a 13-month low in reaction to Friday's tumble in the U.S. Nasdaq market. The Weighted Stock Price Index fell 32.79 points, or 0.45 percent, to 7,335.20, its lowest close since 7,330.24 points recorded on Aug. 12, 1999. WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares closed higher. The benchmark NZSE-40 Capital Index rose 2.92 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,091.10. MANILA: Philippine stocks closed lower, dragged down by a weaker peso and a 1 percentage point increase in the central bank's key overnight rates. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 22.21 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,501.4. SYDNEY: The Australian market closed lower following a negative lead from Wall Street Friday and little local direction. The All Ordinaries Index fell 23.9 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,255.0. JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed lower on worries about violence in West Timor. The Composite Index fell 1.8 percent, or 8.387 points, to 462.538. SINGAPORE: Share prices closed lower, dragged down by selling in banking and technology stocks. The Straits Times Index fell 15.44 points, or 0.72 percent, to 2,119.61. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed lower, with many investors staying on the sidelines. The Composite Index fell 1.7 percent, or 12.66 points, to 727.15. |