Asian markets were heading lower despite big gains on Wall Street, which closed at record highs overnight. The Dow Jones rose 0.9% to 17,959.4, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 2,078.5 – both breaking records. However, trading was thin in Asia with the regions biggest market ‘Japan’ closed for a public holiday. Chinese markets opened mixed on profit taking after the recent rally with the Shanghai Composite down 2.9% to 3,035.78. In Hong Kong, the HangSeng index was up 0.3% to 23,467.21. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.7% at 5,404.5 on profit taking after three previous sessions of sharp gains. News that Western Australia state, once the economic engine of the country, recorded its first budget deficit in 15 years as royalties from iron ore plunged, also weighed on investor sentiment. (BBC)
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 07:08:13 +0000
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