Asian markets were mixed on the last day of the year with Shanghai ranking as the region’s worst-performing market of 2013.
Broadly across Asia, it was a quiet day, with many of the region’s major markets enjoying a shortened session. Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore all closed halfway through the day.
Markets in Japan and Korea had the day off
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index improved 61.52 points, or 0.3%, to 23,306.39
Japan’s Nikkei notched up the largest gains in the region this year — up 56.7%, making it the market’s best year since 1972. In other markets, Australia was up 15.1% for the year, and Hong Kong notched a 2.9% rise.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index regained 30.57 points, or 1.3%, to 2,330.03.
China reopened the floodgates for initial public offerings, which have been suspended since 2012. On Thursday, Jan. 2, five companies will launch initial public offerings.
Brokerages benefited from the news, with Citic Securities Co. up 2.9% and Western Securities Co. up 3.7%.
The Shanghai Composite is down 6.8% for 2013, making it the worst-performing market in Asia. Investors have been long concerned about high levels of debt in China and the local banking system’s exposure to bad debt.
This year in particular, rising money market rates shook confidence in the Chinese stock market and contributed to its fourth consecutive year of poor performance.
On Tuesday, this theme remained evident in news that the debt and guarantees issued by local governments jumped 67% to 17.9 trillion yuan ($2.95 trillion U.S.) in the middle of 2013, compared with 10.7 trillion yuan at the end of 2010, according to China’s National Audit Office, which released the data Monday.
Markets were also cautious ahead of China’s official manufacturing data due Wednesday, with investors widely expecting a slowdown in factory activity.
China’s manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index will slip to 51.2 in December compared with 51.4 in November, according to the median forecast of eight economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. A result above the 50 level indicates an expansion in manufacturing activity, while a result below that indicates a contraction.
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index slid 11.92 points, or 0.1%, to 8,611.51
The Singapore Straits Times Index gathered 14.14 points, or 0.5%, to 3,167.43
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 31.97 points, or 0.7%, to 4,737.01
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dipped 4.60 points, or 0.1%, to 5,352.20
