Equities markets in Shanghai and Seoul were up on Thursday, while Taipei, Manila, and Tokyo fell on the day.

The composite index in Shanghai rose 1.4 percent to 1,131.052, after advance of 8.4 percent on Wednesday; that was the largest 1-day advance in Taipei in 3 years.

The market in Seoul, meanwhile, was up, by 1.2 percent to 987.58 as the shipping sector advanced on lower oil prices.

On the losing side, the market was down in Taipei as the weighted index fell 0.3 percent to 6,145.92 on profit taking in the technology sector.

In Manila, worries about government corruption led the composite index down 2.8 percent to 1,898.24, after the market there had its largest weekly advance in two years just last week. Additionally, the peso fell to a 2-month low against the US dollar.

The latest scandal involves allegations that individuals in the Philippine president’s family have been accepting gambling payoffs.

In Tokyo, the markets fell to a 2-week low as the technology and automobile manufacturing sectors were down and export-oriented stocks generally were down on data showing that export volumes have dropped on a year-to-year basis in three of the past four months.

The Nikkei 225 fell 1.1 percent to 11,160 while the Topix index was down 0.9 percent to 1,138.7.

Japanese investors were also influenced by higher estimates of inflation and lowered economic growth forecasts in the US as well as by anticipation over Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s upcoming remarks in front of a Congressional committee.

The KSE-100 average in Karachi, Pakistan fell more than 4 percent, to just above the 6900 level, in the first hour of trade on Monday morning after investors learned of the delay of the sale of as much as 26 percent of shares in state-owned Pakistan Telecommunications (PTCL).

The sale, which was to privatize the company, was expected to raise between US$1.5 - 1.6 billion.

The delay in the sale was announced late Friday night, ahead of a strike deadline of Monday set by the PTCL labour unions in case the privatization went ahead.

The sale, if and when it does occur, is planned to be accompanied by a transfer of management responsibilities to the new purchaser. The new management is then expected to cut many of the company’s 61,000 jobs.

A government minister said that the delay was a temporary measure to avert the strike and that a new date for the sale would be announced, perhaps as soon as this week.

An analyst, however, said that the delay had destroyed any confidence investors had in the sale and that any newly announced date would be met with skepticism.

Both Australian air carrier Qantas and Singapore Airlines have said that they were informed by Airbus that there will be a delay of at least six months before the two airlines will begin to receive their orders for the new A380 superjumbo jet.

Singapore Airlines said that they were told that their first plane would be delivered in the last quarter of 2006 rather than in the second quarter, and Qantas will have to wait until April of 2007 to receive the first of the 12 planes they have ordered instead of getting it in autumn of 2006.

The delay comes at an unfortunate time for Airbus. Its majority parent company, EADS, has been contending with conflicts among some shareholders concerning management structure. Additionally, the US and European Union are continuing to contend over issues related to government subsidies for civil aircraft development.

The delays will also affect cash flow to Airbus, EADS and minority shareholder BAE Systems.

A spokeswoman for Airbus said that the delays are being caused by “industrial issues” revealed by the initial test flights of the aircraft, necessary modifications, and issues over customizations that some airlines had requested for their planes.

Also a factor was the effort to keep the weight of the aircraft down. The spokeswoman also clamed that no new aircraft had ever been delivered on time. Qantas has said that it will be asking for compensation for the delivery delays, as outlined in its contract with Airbus.

Equities markets in Taipei, Sydney, and Singapore were up on Thursday but Hong
Kong and Tokyo markets were down in a mixed day for Asian stocks.

The weighted index in Taipei was up 1.1 percent to 6,039.48 on gains in shares of smaller technology companies, but larger technology firms saw losses on the day. In Sydney the advances in the energy and mining sectors helped the S&P/ASX 200 to rise 0.8 percent to 4,180.7. In Singapore, the Strait Times index rose 0.7 percent to close to a five year high of 2,191.55.

Shares in banks went higher as optimism over the future of Singapore’s economy reigned. Technology shares also gained in value. On the negative side, investors were showing caution
ahead of several upcoming Chinese initial public offerings scheduled for Hong Kong, and worries over next year’s real estate prices sent property stocks lower.

These circumstances combined to send the Hang Seng index down 0.4 percent to 13,814.58. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent to 11,280.05 and the Topix was down 0.1 percent to 1,148.85.

Equities markets in the eurozone were down on Tuesday, while London and New York were mixed and Asia, with the exception of the Tokyo markets, had a positive day.

Profit-taking ruled in the eurozone as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.1 percent to 1,095.92. Advances in the oil and pharmaceuticals sectors were not enough to balance losses in telecommunications.

In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to close at 4982.5, while the FTSE 250 did better, climbing 0.21 percent to 7001.7. The mining sector did well, but Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile phone operator had its worst day in a year.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 percent to close at 10,503.68. However, the S&P 500 was up slightly to close at 1,194.08, while the Nasdaq was up 0.2 percent to 2,061.612 on a rising semiconductor sector.

The Tokyo markets were lower on weakness in the steel sector. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 percent to close at 11,133.65 and the Topix index was down 0.1 percent to 1,136.32. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was 0.2 percent higher to close at 13,719.32, but volume was very low as investors awaited the results of several upcoming Chinese initial public offerings.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index rose 0.1 percent to close at 2,175.20 as technology stocks went higher. However, at one point in the day the index was up 0.7 percent, which was a 9-week high. The technology sector helped Taipei as well, as the weighted index there closed up 0.4 percent to 5,909.10. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6 percent to close at 4,102.0.

The Asian markets saw mixed fortunes on Monday.

The Kospi index in Seoul was down 0.6 percent, to 935.2, mostly over concerns that North Korea would carry out threatened nuclear testing.

Additionally, Hyundai Motors was fell 0.9 percent to Won52,500 and Kia Motors declined by 1.5 percent to Won12,750.

The Taiex index in Taiwan closed even at 4,966.85. In India, the Sensex index in Mumbai rose 0.7 percent to 6,430.67. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.2 percent to 11,171.32 even as the Topix was up 0.2 percent to close at 1,152.48.

Profit-taking caused Japan Airlines, Asia’s largest airline, to fall 1 percent to ¥297 even though it reported higher than expected profits for the fiscal year 2004/5 and a projected a positive outcome for 2005/6.

The air carrier had warned that profits could be affected by high fuel costs. The fact that the airline’s chairman resigned early amid safety criticisms also had an effect on its performance on Monday.

Other airlines in the region seemed not to be affected by Japan Airlines’ performance and either remained at earlier levels or closed higher.

Despite growth in the Indian equities market, there are still problems in getting both small companies and small investors to participate in the market.

In the case of persuading small companies to go public and list on the market, the amount of time and effort required to meet disclosure requirements can be a hindering factor.

A family-owned retailer that recently listed said that it spent nine months gathering information on business differences within the family to meet requirements for full disclosure in the issue prospectus.

That information, which took up a third of the 630-page document, had no real bearing on the operation of the business, according to the company.

Still, Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in the last fiscal year (which ended in March) totaled R214.32 billion, up from R178.21 billion the previous year, and only R10.39 billion the year before that. IPOs this year could be up to as much as R400 billion.

Just as difficult is getting small investors to put their money in the market. Small investors are required to make a full down payment on stock purchases, something that is not required of large investors.

This is not likely to substantially increase the current figure of only 1.5 percent of $1,500 billion in Indian household savings invested in equities.

The Tokyo markets were still feeling the effects of recent tensions between Japan and China.

In addition, technology stocks were lower due to concerns that weak retail sales figures from the U.S. would slow down consumer spending.

Technology losses included a 1.4 percent drop for Sony.

The banking sector was also down, as was the retail sector.

Retailer Takashimaya was down 5.6 percent, for example. One exception to retail losses was Lawson, Japan’s second-largest retail chain.

Lawson’s shares rose 2.2 percent following reports of record profits and predictions of more growth in the offing.

Additionally, Kanebo, the household goods manufacturer that has been crippled by an accounting scandal, was down an additional 15.5 percent on Thursday after a 13.4 percent loss on Wednesday.

In other Asian markets Thursday, stocks were also generally down. Taipei was down 0.4 percent due to technology sell-offs.

Sydney’s markets hit their lowest point in almost three months when the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.3 percent to 4082.3.

Seoul had its biggest one-day loss in nearly six months when its composite index fell 2.8 percent.