Skip navigation
Watchlist Sponsored By :

Current DateTime: 03:18:20 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697
  • Runway Angels

      The superbowl of fashion shows, models walk down the runway at the 2009 Victoria's Secret Show.

  • Smartphone Guide

      Here's a need-to-know guide to nine devices, based on features, price, network and platform.

  • Wines for the Holidays

      Not quite sure what wine to pair with Turkey or Creme Brulee? Our experts do.

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 03:18:20 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611
  • A Healthier & Wealthier You

      Take the following quiz and find out how much you know about the impact of obesity on the health of the U.S. economy.

  • The Billionaire BFF's

      Philanthropists. Bridge partners. Hockey players. Which responses are based on facts from Buffett's and Gates' real lives?

  • The Many Myths of Coca-Cola

      Can you tell which statements are true, and which ones are just rumors?


Current DateTime: 03:18:20 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

  • Investor's Guide to Real Estate

      Some even say the long-awaited recovery is here. Regardless, buyers and sellers alike can profit from our guide.

  • Alternative Investing

      Stocks and bonds? Sure. But it's a big world out there for investors.

powered by digg
By: CNBC.com | 08 May 2008 | 05:10 AM ET
Text Size

Oil's relentless push to yet another record high pressured Asian shares across the board Thursday, raising fears that inflation -- and central bank measures to cool it -- would hurt consumer spending and profits.

The dollar [EUR-TN  Loading...      ()] rose against the euro, which fell to a six-week low against the U.S. currency as weak euro zone retail sales sparked concern about the region's economy.

U.S. crude [US@CL.1  Loading...      ()] added a further 23 cents to trade at $123.76 in early trade in Asia. Prices have doubled in a year and risen sixfold since 2002 on rising demand from China and other developing countries, adding pressure to economies already hit hard by a housing and credit crunch and rising food costs. The advance in crude oil prices to fresh highs came a day after investment bank Goldman Sachs said oil prices could scale $200 a barrel in the next two years as part of an ongoing "super spike" in the market. London Brent crude [GB@IB.1  Loading...      ()] is also higher. 

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Average [JP;N225  Loading...      ()] shed 1.1 percent, its first negative day in three, as financials such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and other recent gainers sold after a tumble on Wall Street. 

Seoul shares closed down led by financials after the Bank of Korea kept its key interest rate unchanged, dashing hopes of a rate cut, while record high oil prices stoked worries about corporate profits.

Australian shares erased early losses finish nearly 1 percent higher after reassuring comments from two big Australian banks sparked a recovery in the financial sector, offsetting falls in the miners on weaker metals prices. Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corp said at an investor presentation that they were well-placed to ride out the global credit squeeze and that they have no plans to raise additional capital.

Hong Kong stocks fell 0.6 percent, tracking overseas markets, with oil refiners PetroChina and Sinopec leading the declines after crude prices hit a new record high. Sectors sensitive to high fuel costs, such as airlines, also fell. Flag carrier Air China fell, while China Southern and China Eastern also dropped.

Singapore's Straits Times Index dropped 2 percent with banks leading the declines. United Overseas Bank fell 3.6 percent, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp
lost 1.7 percent.

Chinese stocks rebounded, to close 2.2 percent higher, in response to signs that authorities were determined to support the market, but gains in the main index were limited by a slide in oil refining stocks because of high crude oil prices. Steel makers and coal producers rose sharply. China Shenhua Energy and Baoshan Iron & Steel, China's biggest steelmaker were both higher. But China's major oil companies, which are subject to price restrictions in the domestic retail market, slid on concern that higher crude prices would widen their refining losses.

© 2009 CNBC.com
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Remember when auto shows were major events where new models could generate buzz?
  • Swine Flu Needle
  • CNBC’s Mike Huckman visits a cutting-edge plant to see how the flu vaccine of the future is being made.
  • People who bottle up their anger at work are up to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack, a study found.
  • Playboy Logo
  • Playboy will outsource its publishing operations in a bid to become profitable again.
  • A new McDonald's in Manhattan is the nation's first to sport a sleek, chic interior imported from stores in London and Paris.
  • For nearly three decades, these on-call experts have been dishing advice on how to – and not to – cook turkey.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 01:26:08 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:01:48 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 02:05:47 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:01:48 25 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters