Monday was a good day for the Nikkei in Tokyo. Positive earnings news from Toyota especially, lead to a gain of almost 1% by close of play. Elsewhere, technology seemed to be in favour for South Korea and Taiwan. The South Korean Kospi index managed to close up by almost 1%, making the index level of 780.24 the highest close for a year and a half. With a reversal of fortune, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell slightly, probably due to pending news from the US Federal Reserve.
Tuesday saw the Nikkei index fall by almost 2% on the back of a rise in Japan’s unemployed numbers. Other markets were mixed with the Hang Seng boosted by almost 2.5% following news of investment in a US telecommunications firm that had filed for bankruptcy. As could be expected, the Kospi index fell in South Korea due to investors taking profits from yesterday.
Wednesday was another bad day for the Nikkei, falling by over 1% on the back of news for longer than expected economic recovery and political unrest – the Japanese Prime Minister sacked both Japan’s Foreign Secretary and Vice Foreign Secretary. The news was taken badly as the Foreign Secretary was a popular politician. The Hang Seng also fell on Wednesday by almost 3%, and a fall was also seen in Taiwan.
Thursday saw sentiments improve and the Nikkei managed a gain of almost 1%. Other markets such as Sydney, Singapore and Taiwan also saw gains, possibly due to the favourable news from the US regarding economic growth.
Friday saw the Nikkei back in the red despite upbeat news from the US. Political problems and falls in the banking and technology sector did nothing to encourage investing, leaving the Nikkei with a loss of over 2%. Other Far Eastern markets also fell lower by close of play.