Asian markets were mixed Monday, with a weaker yen boosting Japanese shares, while a drop in the U.S. unemployment rate failed to spur buying in a region that has rallied massively this year.
Japanese investors were heartened by the dollar's recovery above the 90-yen line from 14-year lows below 85 yen a week ago, as well as encouraging figures about the U.S. labor market released Friday.
The jobless rate unexpectedly dropped to 10 percent and only 11,000 jobs were lost during November, the lowest in two years. That suggests the U.S. slump is easing - although Wall Street eked out only small gains Friday as investors mulled whether an improving economy will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
"Expectations that U.S. rates may rise lifted the dollar, and stocks have reacted to that," said Takuro Hayashi, an equity analyst at Cosmo Securities in Tokyo. "We think the yen will keep weakening, so there's room for Japanese stocks to rise toward year-end."
The dollar slipped back under 90 yen in Tokyo trading from 90.25 yen late Friday. The stronger the dollar, the better the exchange rate for Japanese exporters bringing home earnings from abroad.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 average rose 152.73, or 1.5 percent, to 10,175.18.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 139.27, or 0.6 percent, to 22,358.88 while in Australia the main index slipped 25.7 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,676.50.
"The market gained too much recently so we're seeing some profit-taking. Short-term traders are selling on good news" about the U.S. jobs numbers, said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.
Asian markets have rallied powerfully from their lows in March on hopes the world economy was climbing out of recession. India's market has gained over 77 percent so far this year while China's is up 82 percent.
Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi gained 0.4 percent and Singapore's benchmark also climbed 0.4 percent. China's Shanghai index was up 0.1 percent.
In Tokyo, Japan Airlines was up 8 percent after reports over the weekend that the Japanese government is considering 700 billion yen ($7.8 billion) in credit guarantees to the carrier.
This could give the cash-strapped airline, which lost $1.5 billion in the six months through September, easier access to capital from banks and potential investors.
In the U.S. on Friday, the Dow ended with a gain of 22.75, or 0.2 percent, to 10,388.90 after reaching a 2009 high of 10,516.70 in early trading.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6.06, or 0.6 percent, to 1,105.98, after setting a 2009 high of 1,119.13. The Nasdaq composite index rose 21.21, or 1 percent, to 2,194.35, reaching a high for the year of 2,214.39.
Oil prices hovered below $76 a barrel in Asia after several OPEC ministers said they don't expect their group to change production levels at a meeting later this month.
Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 25 cents to $75.72 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 99 cents to settle at $75.47 on Friday.
In currencies, the dollar was down to 89.84 yen from 90.25. The euro rose to $1.4898 from $1.4851.
Source:The Associated Press , Tokyo | Mon, 12/07/2009
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