Asian Stock Market Overview - Nikkei Drops, S. Korea Stocks Down, and more
This week’s highlights of the Asian market are as follows:
Nikkei Drops as Companies Going Ex-dividend
Japan’s Nikkei dropped 170 points as companies going ex-dividend bruised the market. The companies that have their business year ending in March, will go ex-dividend on Wednesday .
Stability in the U.S yields further aggravated this decline.
As state above, the market participants estimate the post-adjustment price would result in Nikkei losing 170 points. The average share fell by 0.6 percent (130.66 points) to 21,297.73.
In general,the Japanese market has been pretty volatile this week, falling by 3% on Monday and bouncing back on Tuesday.
Speaking of dividends, the stocks with high-divided yields, under performed. These includes utility stocks, exporters, and banks.
The big shots such as Toyota Motor Corp. dropped by 2.5%, and Subaru Corp fell by 3.7%. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group dipped by 1.9% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group declined by 2.8%.
Power giants Kansai Electric Power plunged 4.5% and Tokyo Gas dipped by 2.7%.
Alconix, the metal products distributor was the biggest loser, dropping by 8.7%.
South Korean stocks drop ahead of US-China trade talks
Ahead of the highly-anticipated US-China talks in Beijing, the South Korean KOSPI stock index plunged on Wendesday.
KOSPI, the spearhead of Seoul stock market, dipped 3.71 points (-0.71%), to 2,145.09 points. Even the Korean Won crippled against the U.S dollar. The won was quoted at 1,134.9 per dollar.
The trade talk, which is to be held in Beijing, will take place on March 28. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will travel to China for the talks.
For the year 2019, the KOSPI has gained 5.7% and lost 1.5% in the last 30 trading sessions. The market capitalization is woirth 1,242.04 trillion won, the dividend yield is 1.28%, and the current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10.
Australian shares plunge to 5-week lows
Australian shares reached towards 5 week lows on Wednesday, as financials plunged in the midst of Parliamentary questioning of the two of the ‘big four’ banks CEO.
The Chief Executive Officers of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) and National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) are facing a parliamentary hearing due to a misconduct enquiry. And as a result, the ANZ shares fell by 0.7% while the NAB dipped 0.2%
Gold stocks after a 2 session rally, also dipped sharply, weakening against the U.S dollar.
The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped by 24.7 points (-0.4%) to 6,105.9 points. Financial stocks dropped 0.5 percent.
On the other side, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index gained 0.8% (80.08 points) to 9,653.9 points, a record high.
Uber-Careem results in Saudi share rise
Saudi shares rose by 0.1% as Al Tayyar Group, gained 10%. The group, which is a shareholder of Careem, a transportation network company based in Dubai.
In the Uber-Careem deal, Uber has agreed to buy Careem which would result in Al-Tayyar group making a profit of approximately 1.78 billion riyals ($474.64 million) from the transaction.
This was our roundup on the Asian stock market. Stay in touch with us for the latest trading news, events, and price updates.
