The Asian markets closed mostly in green on Tuesday, with Chinese stocks ending lower, as losses in the Oil Equipment Services & Distribution, Telecoms and Mobile sectors led shares lower. Chinese fund managers cut the proportion of their portfolios to be invested in stocks over the next three months to a six-month low, reflecting concerns that the mainland market may be overheating after a torrid rally. China’s central bank lowered minimum down-payment levels on second homes nationwide, scrapping a key policy originally aimed at controlling housing prices as it seeks to boost the economy. Hong Kong Retail Sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14.9%, from -14.6% in the preceding month. Japanese Housing Starts rose to a seasonally adjusted -3.1%, from -13.0% in the preceding quarter. South Korean Industrial Production fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of -4.7%, from 1.7% in the preceding month whose figure was revised down from 1.8% while South Korean Retail Sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.8%, from -2.8% in the preceding month whose figure was revised up from -3.1%.
Asian Indices Last Trade Change in Points Change in % Shanghai Composite 3,747.90 -38.67 -1.02 Hang Seng 24,900.89 45.77 0.18 Jakarta Composite 5,518.68 80.02 1.47 KLSE Composite 1,830.78 8.95 0.49 Nikkei 225 19,206.99 -204.41 -1.05 Straits Times 3,447.01 -7.25 -0.21 KOSPI Composite 2,041.03 10.99 0.54 Taiwan Weighted 9,586.44 64.57 0.68