Asian Markets reverse course to end mostly lower (MarketWatch) (14-07-2008)

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks lost early gains reversing their earlier gaining course as they entered negative territory on Monday on investor worry related to rising inflation and interest rates. Enthusiasm on the upcoming rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the U.S. government waned by the afternoon sessions.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Average finished 0.2% lower, ending at 13,010.16. The Topix index fell 0.4% to 1,280.72.

China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to 2,859.56 in a volatile session. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slipped 1.3% to 21,901.95, giving up early gains, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 0.5% to 12,242.94.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.6%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gave up 1.2% and New Zealand's NZX 50 index lost 1.3%. Singapore's Straits Times index dipped 1.5% and Taiwan's weighted index declined 1.2%.

India's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, fell 0.5% to 13,405.19 by late morning, while the broader S&P/CNX Nifty declined 0.4% to 4,066.60.

Shares of Mizuho Financial Group added 0.6% and Nomura Holdings gained 0.3%, after the White House and Federal Reserve moved to give the U.S. mortgage companies the capital they need to survive the depression in the housing market.

But other financials declined, unable to latch on to their early gains. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gave up 1.4% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group slipped 0.1%.

Financials were mixed in the rest of the region, with Industrial Bank of Korea dropping 2.7% and Korea Exchange Bank gaining 3.9% in Seoul, National Australia Bank giving up 3.4% in Sydney, HSBC Holdings dropping 2.2% and Hang Seng Bank gaining 0.5% in Hong Kong.

In Singapore, shares of United Overseas Bank shed 1.5%, while State Bank of India added 2.8% in Mumbai.

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 Source: MarketWatch