Asia equities show mixed markets Thursday

Equities markets in Shanghai and Seoul were up on Thursday, while Taipei, Manila, and Tokyo fell on the day.

The composite index in Shanghai rose 1.4 percent to 1,131.052, after advance of 8.4 percent on Wednesday; that was the largest 1-day advance in Taipei in 3 years.

The market in Seoul, meanwhile, was up, by 1.2 percent to 987.58 as the shipping sector advanced on lower oil prices.

On the losing side, the market was down in Taipei as the weighted index fell 0.3 percent to 6,145.92 on profit taking in the technology sector.

In Manila, worries about government corruption led the composite index down 2.8 percent to 1,898.24, after the market there had its largest weekly advance in two years just last week. Additionally, the peso fell to a 2-month low against the US dollar.

The latest scandal involves allegations that individuals in the Philippine president’s family have been accepting gambling payoffs.

In Tokyo, the markets fell to a 2-week low as the technology and automobile manufacturing sectors were down and export-oriented stocks generally were down on data showing that export volumes have dropped on a year-to-year basis in three of the past four months.

The Nikkei 225 fell 1.1 percent to 11,160 while the Topix index was down 0.9 percent to 1,138.7.

Japanese investors were also influenced by higher estimates of inflation and lowered economic growth forecasts in the US as well as by anticipation over Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s upcoming remarks in front of a Congressional committee.

Story link: Asia equities show mixed markets Thursday