Asian sharemarkets tumble after Japanese quake: Midday Roundup

The Japanese Nikkei index has fallen over 5% this morning in the first day of trading since Friday’s devastating earthquake, highlighting the economic impact of the country’s largest natural disaster in decades.

The market fell from 10,044.17 to 9733.84 when it first opened. Among the worst impacted were equipment and transport manufacturers.

The opening of the market comes after the Bank of Japan said it would pump cash into the economy in order to stabilise it. It injected seven trillion yen this morning in order to calm the fears of investors.

“The move is aimed at stabilising financial markets and ensuring smooth fund settlement,” the bank told Reuters in a statement.

Australian stocks flat despite Japanese drop

Despite the fall in Japanese stocks, Australian shares have remained mostly stable this morning.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index opened 0.89% lower when trading begun, but was only down 34 points or 0.74% to 4610.6 at 12.15 AEST. The Australian dollar also rose above parity to $US1.01.

AMP shares fell 0.75% to $5.31, while ANZ fell 0.82% to $22.98. Commonwealth Bank shares fell 0.41% to $50.65 as Westpac rose 0.09% to $22.92.

Shares is uranium miners have fallen as Japan struggles to bring nuclear plants back online following the earthquake and tsunami catastrophes. Shares in Energy Resources fell just under 10% to $8.47, with Paladin Energy falling 13.1% to $4.11.

“Overall it is a short-term reaction and it should be business as usual in the longer run, simply because there are not a lot of alternatives,” Morningstar Senior Resources analyst Mark Taylor told Reuters.

Nine IPO not essential, company claims

Nine Entertainment Group co-chief executive David Gyngell has told a business forum the float of its company is not essential, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review.

“I think everyone is preoccupied with how essential it is for us to float. It’s not that essential,” the report quotes Gyngell as saying.

“Clearly there’s been a lot written about when debt matures, but having a float is not the only thing that could change that.”

Expedia lobbies to scrap booking fees

Online travel agency Expedia has said it is time for Australian sites to scrap booking fees for customers.

“Surprisingly, Australia is one of the rare countries in the world that charges booking fees for online travel transactions,” Expedia Australia and New Zealand general manager Nicholas Chu told AAP.

“We don’t charge booking fees in the US anymore, most of the countries in Europe don’t charge booking fees.”

Expedia says research conducted by the company has found 75% of Australians hate having to pay the fees.

“In the US, which is a much more mature online travel market, everyone is aware of fees, and I can tell you that no one wants to pay fees.”

Energy sector still recovering

Accounting giant Deloitte has said in a new report the energy sector will continue recovering in 2011.

In its new report, the company says the energy sector’s outlook is that it will experience “unprecedented change” as “investment and carbon uncertainty, together with an increased priority on clean-energy developments,” present key challenges.

“This, combined with government mandates to develop renewable energy sources, availability of reliable water sources, the war for talent, and the drive towards industry innovation, creates a dynamic and challenging environment.”

China is the main catalyst for economic growth, with GDP growth forecast at 7% in 2011, the report says.