bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

MANILA share prices crumbled yesterday under an onslaught of panic selling, leading the downward slide among regional markets.

   Prices in what was the world's third best-performing stock market last year fell across the board after a technical rally earlier this week turned into a rout, analysts said.

   The Manila index dropped nearly 130 points or five per cent to 2,507.33.

   Singapore share prices closed lower, spooked by prospects of higher interest rates in the United States, and brokers said they did not expect any major recovery near-term until an increase took place.

   Tokyo stocks ended soft on renewed worries of corporate profit-taking ahead of the March 31 fiscal year end.

BANGKOK STOCKS closed lower on thin volume as investors were sidelined because of an absence of positive news.

  The SET Index fell 9.47 points to 1,358.56 on thin turnover of five billion baht.

 ''The market is bearish as investors are waiting to take short-term profit,'' said broker Nanthawat Chuaysong of Poonpipat Finance.

   He said the Thai stock market, like other markets in the region which closed lower, would be on a downward trend this week unless positive factors emerged.

   On Monday the stock market's general index failed to go through a resistance level at 1,381 points, prompting investors to search for stocks likely to head down.

BOMBAY PRICES on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended lower as late selling by speculators wiped out early gains.

   The BSE 30-share index ended at 3,812.93, down 34.46 points, after touching a high of 3,937.42 in the first half of the session.

  The 100-share national index closed at a provisional 1,846.90, up 4.06 points from Tuesday.

 ''The market had opened higher on rumours that the deadline for wiping out outstanding carry-forward deals will be extended,'' said Sunil Kothari of brokers Nagindas Kothari.

  The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned the carry-forward system and ordered brokers to liquidate their forward positions by March 12.

   The Bombay Stock Exchange is closed today for a Hindu festival.

JAKARTA PRICES closed down in slow trading marked by bearish sentiment before an annual Muslim holiday.

 ''We only have offers on our book and the list seems to be getting longer. There is no sign of support,'' one foreign dealer said.

  Prices tended to fall across the board mainly because of selling by overseas players, he said.

   The official index fell 6.6 points to 514.57.

KUALA LUMPUR PRICES reversed their early trend to close mostly lower as investors liquidated positions for quick profits amid the market's uncertain direction.

   But the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index closed up 0.13 points at 1,056.43, helped by gains in some core stocks.

 ''With the market direction very much uncertain, players are out to make quick profits,'' an Arab-Malaysian Securities trader said, adding that persistent talk of foreign exchange losses at Malaysia's central bank, Bank Negara, also unnerved investors' confidence.

   Turnover was 227.1 million shares against 286.6 million on Tuesday, while falls led rises 283 to 99.

MANILA SHARES took one of their heaviest falls of the year, pushed down by uncertainty about higher interest rates and political worries.

   The Manila index dropped nearly five per cent, or about 130 points, after aggressive selling overwhelmed a thin market.

 ''There were a lot of uncertainties about higher interest rates and political fears. Everybody wants to take some profit right now,'' said Erwin Tan of Abacus Securities.

    The Manila composite index dropped to 2,507.33 points while Makati closed at 2,502.43.

     Combined turnover on the two exchanges rose to 2.96 billion shares valued at 1 billion pesos against Tuesday's 2.47 billion shares worth 855.44 million pesos.

SEOUL STOCKS ended lower in relatively slow trading. Blue chips continued to lose ground.

   The composite index shed seven points to close at 877.85.

 ''Market sentiment remained weak, with client deposits with securities houses steadily falling,'' said a Daishin Securities broker.

  Brokers expected the market would rebound today after the recent slide.

   Volume totalled 21.45 million shares, valued at 467.53 billion won, compared with 19.41 million in volume valued at 440.93 billion won on Tuesday.

SINGAPORE PRICES closed lower in line with weaker major overseas markets which continued to be spooked by prospects of higher interest rates in the US.

   Brokers said they did not expect any major recovery in the near-term until a rate increase in US interest rates took place.

 ''I personally feel we need to get a 0.25-point hike in US rates out of the way before we can move on,'' said a Baring Securities dealer.

   He said the market would stay directionless in the meantime.

   The 30-share Straits Times Industrials index fell 17.33 points to 2,222.85.

   Volume was 147.25 million shares. Falls outpaced gains by 246 to 73.

SYDNEY STOCKS closed lower, driven down and held captive by sharply weaker bond prices.

 ''The bond market has been driving the physical and the futures markets all day,'' said ANZ McCaughan associate director Simon Bond.

   The All Ordinaries index closed 24.9 points lower at 2,146.8, with the March share price futures index down 36 points to 2,140 on turnover of 7,308 lots.

   Volume on the physical market was a mere 238.09 million shares worth A$461.76 million. Falls beat rises by two to one.

   Brokers said there remained a reluctance to commit funds to an uncertain and volatile market, caused mainly by concern over the direction of US interest rates.

TAIPEI  PRICES made a weak comeback thanks to late buying of banking and financial issues, after a heavy 190-point dip on Tuesday.

  The benchmark 376-issue weighted price index inched up 10.01 points or 0.18 per cent to finish at 5,466.69.

   But bargain-hunters pursued blue-chip banking and financial shares, which rose an average of 1.3 per cent, before the close of three hours of light trading.

  Falls outnumbered gains by 169 to 110, with 97 counters unchanged.

   Turnover dwindled to 969 million shares valued at NT$49.82 billion from 1.05 billion issues worth $55.45 billion previously.

TOKYO STOCKS ended soft on worries of profit-taking ahead of the March 31 year-end.

  Investors were cautious because the Nikkei saw strong resistance around 20,000 earlier this week, brokers said.

  The market might remain at a stalemate until tomorrow's futures settlements.

   The Nikkei average ended down 59.21 points or 0.3 per cent to 19,839.18, with an estimated 300 million shares traded.

   The broader first section TOPIX index ended down 10.83 points or 0.67 per cent to 1,605.49. The Nikkei 300 stock index closed down 2.49 points to 295.90.

   Sentiment was dented on market talk that Matsushita Electric was selling shareholdings to cover losses incurred in one of its subsidiaries, brokers said.

WELLINGTON SHARES ended soft on low to moderate turnover, with the NZSE-40 capital index ending 19.88 points down at 2,206.2 on turnover of NZ$41 million.

   Nigel Scott, head dealer at BZW, said there was a decided lack of orders.

 ''You've just got a market running on thinner volumes and not so many participants. When you get that you will see the changes that we currently see,'' he said.

   Brierley Investments, which last week reported a gain in first-half net profit to $112.7 million from $80.5 million, ended four cents down at $1.31.



Manila's 5pc plunge leads Asia slide