Japan's Topix stock index rose for the first week in three. Retailers such as Ito-Yokado Co gained after a government report showed service industries expanded more than economists forecast in June.
The services report "points to companies efforts to turn around their business as well as a gradual pickup in consumption," said Akio Yoshino, who helps manage the equivalent of US$15 billion at Societe Generale Asset Management (Japan) Co.
Both the TOPIX and the NIKKEI 225 Stock Average had their first weekly advances in three, each gaining 1.2 percent in Tokyo. The Bloomberg World Asia-Pacific Index, which tracks the performance of more than 1,400 stocks in the region, rose 2.8 percent in the past five days, its first weekly increase in eight.
Japan's KDDI Corp slumped after its bigger rival NTT DoCoMo Inc said it will introduce lower-priced versions of its high-speed mobile phones.
Elsewhere, Taiwan's TAIEX index rose 4.3 percent this week, its biggest advance since the five days ended April 2. Government-controlled companies such as First Financial Holding Co rose after the Commercial Times reported the government is halting sales of shares it owns in companies.
Stock benchmarks rose in Australia, the Philippines and Shanghai, while all others declined.
Ito-Yokado, Japan's second-largest retailer, added 1.8 percent to ¥3,950. Aeon Co, which overtook Ito-Yokado to become the No. 1 retailer last fiscal year, climbed 0.8 percent to ¥1,793.
The tertiary index, a measure of demand for services, rose 0.8 percent in June from May, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in Tokyo. The median estimate of 31 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 0.4 percent increase.
Daiei Inc, a Japanese retailer seeking to cut about US$10 billion of debt, was offered at ¥243, 11 percent lower than the last traded price of ¥273 at the morning close.
The stock was suspended from trading for two hours after the midday break after Jiji Press reported that creditors will ask the state bailout agency to invest 100 billion yen in Daiei. The company said nothing has been decided on its restructuring plan.
TAIEX
Taiwan's First Financial, which is 40 percent owned by the government, rose 1.4 percent to NT$22.60.
The government is halting sales of stocks, complying with a resolution passed by parliament, the Commercial Times reported, citing Cheng Yu-po, deputy director-general of the Department of National Treasury.
"The plan to halt sales of government-held shares shows the government's desire to extend the market's advance," said Kevin Lin, who manages the equivalent of US$60 million at Shinkong Investment Trust Co in Taipei.
KOSPI
The KOSPI index in South Korea, which imports all its oil, dropped 0.1 percent to 787.64 on Friday.
Crude rose to a record and the central bank said the economy grew at its slowest pace in a year in the second quarter. Korean Air Co fell.
Korean Air, the nation's largest air carrier, shed 3.1 percent to 15,500 won. Korea Electric Power Corp, which spends more than a quarter of its fuel budget on oil to generate electricity, fell 0.5 percent to 20,000 won. Samsung Electronics Co, the world's second-largest semiconductor maker, lost 1.7 percent to 434,000 won.
Gross domestic product rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent from the first quarter, the central bank said.
"Oil prices should fall for South Korea to see better economic growth," said Jeong Jong-Hyeon, who helps manage the equivalent of US$866 million at CJ Investment Trust Management Co in Seoul. "In the current economic climate, investors cannot help being conservative in stock trading." For the week, the KOSPI rose for a second week, adding 1.5 percent.
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
JET JUICE: The war on Iran’s secondary effects have seen fuel prices skyrocket, knocking flight schedules down to earth in return as airlines struggle with costs Airline passengers should brace for more irritation in the next few months as carriers worldwide cancel flights and ground planes to cope with stratospheric increases in jet-fuel prices. Dutch flag carrier KLM is the latest company to cut its schedule, saying on Thursday that it would scrap 80 return flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in the coming month. That puts it in the same league as United Airlines Holdings Inc, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which have all pruned itineraries to mitigate costs. Global capacity for next month has been reduced by about 3 percentage points, with all
The US said it plans to help build a first-of-its-kind industrial hub in the Philippines to boost production of inputs crucial to US supply chains. The 4,000-acre hub is intended to be “a purpose-built platform for allied manufacturing” and “an investment acceleration hub where the specific industrial activities are shaped by market demand,” the US Department of State said on Thursday. The project — touted as an “economic security zone” — would be within the Luzon Economic Corridor, a flagship economic project backed by the US and Japan on the main Philippine island. The project was also described as “the first artificial intelligence
RSS