The Asian markets barring Straits Times concluded Monday’s trade in red, with Japan’s Nikkei average easing from a three-week high in an erratic session as a firmer yen and weak Asian markets triggered profit-taking following recent sharp gains. Many investors stayed on the sidelines looking for clearer signs of improvement in Japanese corporate earnings, giving no more than a passing nod to the Group of 20’s latest commitment to spur faster global growth. Taiwanese Industrial Production fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of -1.78%, from 5.07% in the preceding month.
The rate of increase in China’s new home prices eased in January, pointing to more stabilization in the country’s property market. Average new home prices in China’s 70 major cities climbed 9.6% in January from a year earlier, easing from December’s 9.9% rise. It was the first time in 14 months that the country’s home price rises eased, and the most recent sign that the government’s four-year-plus campaign to rein in property risk may finally be working.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2076.69 | -37.01 | -1.75 |
Hang Seng | 22388.56 | -179.68 | -0.80 |
Jakarta Composite | 4623.57 | -22.58 | -0.49 |
KLSE Composite | 1828.68 | -2.06 | -0.11 |
Nikkei 225 | 14837.68 | -27.99 | -0.19 |
Straits Times | 3105.84 | 5.91 | 0.19 |
KOSPI Composite | 1949.05 | -8.78 | -0.45 |
Taiwan Weighted | 8560.61 | -41.25 | -0.48 |