Asia markets mostly fell Wednesday following a retreat on Wall Street fuelled by profit-taking, with Tokyo hit by a stronger yen and Sydney dipping after data showed Australia's economy grew slower than expected last year.
With few trading cues investors are keeping a watch on the start of China's annual parliament meeting Thursday as well as European Central Bank details on its new bond-purchase scheme.
Tokyo slid 1.01 per cent, Sydney shed 0.56 per cent, Hong Kong lost 0.24 per cent and Seoul eased 0.13 per cent. Shanghai, which tumbled 2.20 per cent Tuesday, edged up 0.21 per cent.
"The lack of fresh sparks has prompted investors to take profits and wait for new signals," Matthew Sherwood, Sydney-based head of investment markets research at Perpetual Ltd, told Bloomberg News.
SINGAPORE share prices opened lower on Wednesday with the Straits Times Index (STI) down 1.44 points to 3,420.67 at 9.06am, taking cues from slips in European and US equity markets.
Top gainers in early trading include DBS and ComfortDelgro. DBS is set to gain the most among its peers from higher interest rates, given its strong deposit base and that most of its home loans are pegged to a floating rate. ComfortDelgro is also expected to see an earnings boost from bus reforms next year, said a Deutsche Bank report this week.
Some 33.5 million shares worth S$59.4 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 81 to 72.
POSSIBLY in response to Wall Street's Monday jump that took the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to all-time highs, the Straits Times Index rose 18.22 points or 0.5 per cent to 3,422.11 on Tuesday to go with Monday's 1.03 points rise. This brings its two-day gain to 19 points after falling 38 points on Thursday and Friday last week.
However, despite the index's gain, the broad market was weak for most of the day, with falls outnumbering rises. At 5pm, the advance-decline ratio was 195-238 and turnover at 1.3 billion units worth S$1.2 billion was in line with recent averages.
Jardine and bank stock were the primary index drivers, although Noble Group's S$0.065 or 7 per cent rebound to S$1.01 contributed about four points. The stock had been under intense pressure over the past fortnight following a short selling attack by a firm known only as Iceberg Research.
