The Asian markets barring Seoul Composite concluded Monday’s trade in red, with Japanese stocks falling sharply on their first day of trading in 2014. Chinese stocks were also weaker, as the impact of a reopened initial-public-offering market continued to weigh on local sentiment. A year-long moratorium on new listing was lifted earlier in the year, reviving fears that too many new stocks could hit the market. HSBC’s China services Purchasing Managers’ Index also weighed on sentiment. The gauge of expansion intentions in the services sector fell to 50.9 in December from 52.5 in November. This followed numbers released last week that showed a deceleration in both China manufacturing and services sectors.
Indonesia’s Finance Minister stated that economy contracted by 1.4 to 2.0 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, though full-year growth was 5.7 percent. The minister also added that current-account deficit, which has been a major worry for investors, will be 3.5-3.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013 and decline to 2.7-3.2 percent in 2014. Indonesia’s consumers grew more optimistic in December, indicating an improvement in wages and domestic consumption. The consumer confidence index rose to 116.5 in December, compared with 114.3 in November.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2045.71 | -37.43 | -1.80 |
Hang Seng | 22684.15 | -133.13 | -0.58 |
Jakarta Composite | 4202.81 | -54.85 | -1.29 |
KLSE Composite | 1829.18 | -5.56 | -0.30 |
Nikkei 225 | 15908.88 | -382.43 | -2.35 |
Straits Times | 3123.82 | -7.65 | -0.24 |
KOSPI Composite | 1953.28 | 7.14 | 0.37 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8500.01 | -46.53 | -0.54 |