HONG KONG: Trade was tepid as Asian stock markets closed for the year on Friday, with Sydney ending on a low note after a lacklustre Wall Street performance but Chinese shares gaining slightly. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 index ended the half-day session down 0.94 percent, or 45.2 points, at 4,745.2 and was down 2.57 percent for the year as a whole. Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended its shortened session up 0.16 percent, or 36.11 points, at 23,035.45 and up 5.32 percent for the year, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.59 percent at lunch.
Exchanges were closed in Tokyo, Seoul, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bangkok, after Japan's Nikkei index ended Thursday down 1.12 percent and off by 3.01 percent for the year as a whole. Sydney was hit by multiple negatives.
Earnings downgrades in the United States for financial giants Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs weighed on banks, flooding in Queensland dampened mining stocks and an imminent cyclone near Port Hedland in the northwest hurt metals stocks such as Fortescue Metals Group and Atlas Iron.
In Hong Kong however traders were snapping up year-end bargains, with the market buoyed by coal stocks thanks to the seasonal cold and anticipation of strong results from the year-end shopping season.
In Shanghai, Shanxi Xishan Coal and Electricity Power gained 2.7 percent after announcing it was hiking its product prices from January 1, potentially boosting earnings. Chinese stocks were on course to close around 16 percent down on the year.
New Zealand's exchange ended the session down 0.76 percent, or 25.24 points, at 3,309.03, and up 2.44 percent for the year.
The US dollar continued an overnight slump against the euro and yen, largely due to fund managers seeking to enhance the look of their portfolios at the year end. A euro bought 1.3298 US dollars in early Asian trade, up from 1.3286 dollars in New York on Thursday. The European currency bought 108.40 yen from 107.78 yen a day before.
The greenback was also down against the yen, trading at 81.52 yen compared with 81.55 yen in US trade on Thursday. The Aussie dollar was well above parity with the greenback, at 1.0156.
Oil dropped in Asian trade after US data showed the country's crude stocks declined at a smaller-than-expected margin. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, dropped 15 cents to 89.69 dollars per barrel. Brent North Sea crude for February was down three cents at 93.12 dollars. Gold opened at 1,408.00-1,409.00 US dollars an ounce in Hong Kong, down from Thursday's close of 1,413.00-1,414.00 dollars.
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