Eurozone, China tightening fears weigh on Asian markets

HONG KONG, (AFP) - Fears for the eurozone and expectations of a Chinese interest rate hike stalked Asian markets on Wednesday, even as some showed signs of recovering from recent days’ lows.

Tokyo’s Nikkei index ended the session up 0.51 percent, or 51.01 points, at 9,988.05, while Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 index ended flat, gaining just 2.2 points to reach 4,586.6.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.05 percent, or 241.81 points, to 23,249.80 -- still well below the 24,000 levels seen last month. Shanghai’s Composite Index ended up 0.12 percent, or 3.27 points, at 2,823.45.

Traders said pessimism about Europe’s debt crisis continued to hold back markets, with a weak euro expected to exert a drag on Japanese exporters.

“Confidence in the European banking system has fallen rapidly and it appears drastic further action will be required by the European Union and the European Central Bank to avert a crisis,” RBS Foreign Exchange Strategist Greg Gibbs told Dow Jones Newswires in Sydney.

“At this stage it’s easier to see contagion spreading and risk appetite declining further globally before this gets better.”In Tokyo, Naoteru Teraoka, general manager at Chuo Mitsui Asset Management, said: “The factors that are weighing on Japanese stocks have not changed -- European debt problems and concerns about China’s tightening moves.”In New York earlier the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.42 percent, the broader S&P 500 index dropped 0.61 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq retreated 1.07 percent.

Following signs of a strong US shopping season, traders now await US jobs data on Friday for indications of the resilience of the recovery there.

The euro staged a slight recovery after dipping below 1.30 dollars on Tuesday for the first time in more than two months as investors fretted that debt contagion could spread beyond Ireland to Portugal, Spain or even Italy.

The euro fetched 1.3051 dollars in Tokyo afternoon trade, up from 1.2985 dollars late Tuesday in New York, where the single European unit had briefly fallen to 1.2969 dollars.

The euro firmed to 108.86 yen from 108.60 yen in New York. The greenback fetched 83.56 yen, also flat from New York.

Meanwhile, expectations of an imminent Chinese rate hike were heightened by official data showing that manufacturing activity on the mainland accelerated in November despite rising costs of raw materials.

The manufacturing purchasing manager’s index rose to 55.2 in November from 54.7 in October, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

In a separate survey, the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI rose to 55.3 last month from 54.8 in October as domestic and overseas orders for Chinese-made goods gathered pace.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion while a reading below 50 shows contraction.

“Despite the absence of negative news in recent days, worries about China’s further monetary policy tightening are still present in the market and are hurting investor confidence,” said analyst Wei Daoke of Shenyin Wanguo Securities.

Australian sentiment was dented by worse-than-expected third quarter growth data, which suggested a slow-down in the resource-driven economy. Treasurer Wayne Swan blamed the result on “one-off factors” including the surging Australian dollar and bad weather that forced three resource ports to close during the period.

Growth for the quarter to September was 0.2 percent, while the annual growth figure was 2.7 percent, from 3.3 percent the previous quarter.

Macquarie analyst Brian Redican said the result showed Australia’s dependence on the mining sector.

“If there’s any slippage in mining investment or mining construction then you do get a very weak outcome,” Redican said. “Suddenly, there’s nothing else to support growth.”Crude oil prices rose in Asian trade as freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall in Europe boosted demand for heating fuel, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, gained 42 cents to 84.53 dollars a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for January advanced 36 cents to 86.28 dollars. Gold closed at 1,392.00-1,393.00 US dollars an ounce in Hong Kong, up from Tuesday’s close of 1,369.00-1,370.00.

In other markets:

-- Seoul’s Kospi index rose 1.30 percent, or 24.69 points, at 1,929.32.

-- Manila rose 1.24 percent, or 49.18 points, to 4,002.88, following a six-percent drop over the past six sessions. Aboitiz Power rose 1.5 percent to 33.30 pesos and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. added 1.2 percent to 70.20 pesos.

-- Wellington rose just 0.59 points to 3,265.10.

-- Taipei added 1.76 percent, or 147.63 points, to 8,520.11. Hua Nan Financial Holdings rose by the 7.0 percent daily limit to 21.00 Taiwan dollars, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co gained 1.89 percent to 64.6.

-- Jakarta rose 2.49 percent, or 87.88 points, to 3,619.09. Coal producer Bumi Resources jumped 7.6 percent to 2,850 rupiah and rival Bukit Asam rose 6.2 percent to 19,600 rupiah.