By Daniel Inman
Asian markets were mostly lower Tuesday ahead of the U.S.
Federal Reserve's policy meeting, led by losses in Shanghai as a
long weekend approaches.
The Shanghai Composite dropped 2.1% to 2185.56 as banks fell
sharply before the Mid-Autumn Festival, which will close markets
Thursday and Friday. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank sank 5.7% and
China Merchants Bank was 4% lower.
In Hong Kong, local banks were in focus, though the index's
declines were moderate, with the Hang Seng Index down 0.3% at
23180.52.
Wing Hang Bank soared 39% (0302.HK) after announcing that its
substantial shareholders had been approached for a possible stake
sale in the lender. The news had a knock-on effect on other local
financial companies---most notably Dah Sing Banking Group , which
jumped 18%.
Tokyo started the day higher after coming back online after a
public holiday Monday, only to lose its early gains as the session
progressed. The Nikkei Stock Average ended down 0.7% at 14311.67,
weighed by a stronger yen.
Although the yen (USDJPY) weakened Tuesday, it remained higher
than at the end of last week. The dollar was at 99.21 yen late in
Asia compared with Yen99.05 late Monday in New York but still lower
than Yen99.37 at the end of Friday.
Stocks and currencies across Asia rose Monday after Lawrence
Summers pulled out of the race to replace Ben Bernanke as the next
chairman of the Federal Reserve. As a result, the dollar weakened
against regional currencies, as Mr. Summers had been seen as likely
to push for a quicker reduction in the Fed's stimulus program had
he become chairman.
Shares in convenience-store operator Familymart Co. (8028.TO)
eased 0.1% in Tokyo after rising earlier following a Nikkei report
that the company's March-to-August group pretax profit rose to a
fresh six-month high.
Also in Tokyo, pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo Co.
(4568.TO) dropped 6.8% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
blocked imports of medicine made at the newest plant of India's
Ranbaxy Laboratories, a Daiichi Sankyo subsidiary.
Malaysia's ringgit (USDMYR) played catch-up after a holiday,
with the currency bumping higher Tuesday---last at 3.2484 ringgit
to the dollar compared with Friday's close of 3.2880 ringgit.
South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4% to 2005.58, Australia's S&P
ASX 200 ended up less than 0.1% at 5251.20 and Indonesia's JSX was
down 0.7% late in Asia.
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