Asian equities display muted trends; China outperforms

16 Mar 2012 Evaluate

Stock markets across Asia slipped into consolidation mode on last trading session of week as investors chose to remain on the sidelines ahead of the weekend. Sentiments in the region remained cautious as market participants focused on the implications of a recent string of negative cues from world’s second largest economy China. The overnight positive close on Wall Street too failed to prop up regional markets’ mood as cautious investors also shrugged the encouraging US economic reports which signaled that the number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell back to a four-year low last week and manufacturing activity in the Northeast picked up this month.

The benchmark in China though, outperformed all its regional peers and climbed over half a percent after companies like Jiangling Motors Corp and Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co reported strong earnings as listed companies started to announce annual earnings reports. However, the equity index in Tokyo slipped lower for the first time in last four sessions as the yen appreciated against US dollar, hurting prospects of export oriented companies.

Shanghai Composite climbed 15.20 points or 0.64% to 2,388.97, Jakarta Composite inched up 2.80 points or 0.07% to 4,042.78, KLSE Composite gained 1.40 points or 0.09% to 1,580.78 and Straits Times rose 0.62 points or 0.02% to 3,026.46.

On the flipside, Hang Seng inched down 8.58 points or 0.04% to 21,344.95, Nikkei 225 eased 6.96 points or 0.07% to 10,116.32, Seoul Composite declined 5.18 points or 0.25% to 2,038.58 and Taiwan Weighted slipped 15.97 points or 0.20% to 8,105.65.

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