Wild Overnight Market Activity

Asian stock markets reversed huge losses on Thursday as central banks provided massive amounts of liquidity to the world financial system.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 7.7 per cent during the morning session. News of the intervention came in the last of half an hour of trading in the afternoon and the index rallied to show a gain of 1.2 per cent on the previous close within twenty minutes. But the benchmark then fell back in the next ten minutes to close almost unchanged on the day, down 0.03 per cent at 17,632.46.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was 1.9 per cent lower at a three-year low of 108.47 by early evening in Tokyo, after earlier dropping as much as 4.3 per cent.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index closed 0.4 per cent higher at 2,429.58 after earlier falling as much as 4.6 per cent. In India, the Sensex’s early 5.3 per cent fall had turned into an 0.3 per cent gain by mid afternoon in Mumbai at 13,297.89.

-EPJ Newsdesk

Singapore Sovereign Fund Wants To Buy Into More Banks

Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings said on today its assets rose 13 per cent in the year to March 2008 and it was prepared to invest more money in Western banks if the opportunity arose.

”Growing with our blue chip companies and our direct investment activities, Temasek now owns a net portfolio of about S$185 bn (US$131bn) at market value as at 31 March 2008,” Chairman S Dhanabalan said in a speech to a group of Singapore entrepreneurs.

He added that the Singapore fund, which already owns large stakes in lenders such as Merrill Lynch and Barclays, would look at opportunities to buy more shares in Western banks.