WRAP Asia markets mostly lower, Nikkei 225 closes with slight rise
(22 Dec 2008) SHOTLIST Seoul, South Korea 1. Pan from computer screen to stock board in background 2. Close-up of computer screen with Kospi index 3. Stock board with Kospi index 4. Tilt-up of stock board 5. Close up of stock board 6. Medium of employees in office 7. Close of computer screen 8. Wide of stock board 9. Close of stock board 10. Close of screen in Korea Exchange lobby with Kospi in Korean 11. Wide of Korea Exchange lobby Tokyo, Japan 12. Tilt down interior of Tokyo Stock Exchange 13. Employee sitting at computer console 14. Employees watching screens 15. Wide of trading floor, tilt up to stock board 16. Stocks changing on screens 17. Various of screen 18. Various of prices on ticker Hong Kong 19. Wide of trading floor, UPSOUND: bell ringing as market opens 20. Electronic trading board 21. Close of Heng Seng Index opening up 49.61 points at 15,177.12 22. SOUNDBITE (English) Kirby Daley, Senior Strategist, Newedge Group: "Investors truly want to believe that the stimulus packages being announced around the world are going to put a bottom under the markets and while they will put a bottom under some of the economies and they will try to keep this out of the depressionary-like effects, they are not going to start a sustained rally in equities in any of the major global market places." 23. Various of dealers 24. SOUNDBITE (English) Kirby Daley, Senior Strategist, Newedge Group: "So this Christmas is sort of bringing it back home that the consumer is gone and it could be a very dark Christmas for a lot of retailers and a lot of companies, because there is going to be nothing to pick this consumption up certainly in the first quarter of next year." 25. Wide of dealers 26. Pan across trading floor STORYLINE Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Monday as a US pledge to loan troubled automakers 17.4 billion US dollars failed to ease worries about a deteriorating world economy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 1.7 percent to 14,874.61, and Australia's key index was down 1.6 percent. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 0.2 percent after opening higher and Singapore's benchmark was down 0.5 percent. Tokyo bucked the regional trend, with its Nikkei 225 stock average rising 130.68 points, or 1.5 percent, to 8,719.20 despite the latest bad news about the country's exports. US stocks closed mixed on Friday, even as the government pledged to provide General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC with 13.4 (b) billion US dollars in short-term financing, and another 4 (b) billion US dollars at a later date. The decision to provide emergency help to carry the struggling industry into the new year comes after a 14 (b) billion US dollar bailout for the automakers failed to make it out of the Senate last week. The companies' cash flows have been dwindling to a slow trickle due to the weak economy, slumping sales and the credit crunch. The Dow Jones industrial average finished down about 25 points on Friday, but both the broader Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes posted moderate advances, finishing higher for the second straight week in a row. Also on Monday, the local South Korean currency was trading at 1,291 to the US dollar as of 0915 (0015 GMT) down one won from Friday's close, according to Yonhap. Last Friday, the Bank of Japan's policy board lowered the uncollateralised overnight call rate target to 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent. In its most bearish assessment of the economy this year, Bank of Japan cited the harsh impact of tumbling exports, weakening domestic demand and job losses. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
