Hong Kong — Asian markets mostly fell yesterday following losses on Wall Street and as profit-takers moved in after last week's huge gains sparked by the US Federal Reserve stimulus plan.
Anti-Japan protests across China also hit shares in both countries, with three of Japan's biggest car makers saying they had closed their factories or cut production in China as a result. Tokyo closed 0.39 per cent, or 35.62 points, lower at 9,123.77 and Sydney fell 0.18 per cent, or 7.8 points, to 4,394.7 while Seoul edged up 0.13 per cent, or 2.61 points, to close at 2,004.96.
Hong Kong shed 0.27 per cent, or 56.18 points, to 20,601.93 while Shanghai fell 0.91 per cent, or 18.96 points, to 2,059.54.
In other markets:
n Taipei dropped 0.36 percent, or 27.96 points, to 7,734.26. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co shed 0.92 per cent to Tw$85.7 while Hon Hai Precision was 1.44 percent lower at Tw$96.1.
n Manila closed 0.37 percent lower, dipping 19.77 points to 5,331.13.
Bank of the Philippine Islands dropped 1.98 per cent to 76.90 pesos and Metropolitan Bank and Trust was down 1.18 percent to 91.90 pesos.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone fell 0.90 per cent to 2,864 pesos.
n Wellington fell 0.33 per cent, or 12.76 points, to 3,804.48.
Fletcher Building fell 0.9 per cent to NZ$6.88 and Telecom was down 0.6 percent at NZ$2.49.
Investors were taking a step back after the Fed on Thursday said it would start a third round of bond-buying, known as quantitative easing (QE3), in a bid to jumpstart the US economy.
The announcement, which followed a European Central Bank plan to buy the debt of under-pressure euro zone nations, had injected global markets with some much-needed risk appetite on Friday.
But profit-taking on Wall Street Monday was fuelled by data showing the Fed's Empire State manufacturing index for the New York region fell for a second straight month in September. The Dow fell 0.30 percent, the S&P 500 slid 0.31 percent and the Nasdaq shed 0.17 per cent.
"The big question was how long the exuberance of QE3 was going to last. Not very long it seems," Tim Waterer, senior trader at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Dow Jones Newswires.
On currency markets the dollar was changing hands at 78.71 yen in late afternoon Asian trade, compared with 78.70 yen in New York late Monday. The euro fetched $1.3090 and 103.03 yen, down from $1.3114 and 103.22 yen. — AFP
