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Asian stocks rally after reassuring Bernanke remarks

A businessman talks on his mobile phone as he walks past an electronic quotation board flashing share prices of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in front of a securities company, in downtown Tokyo, on Friday. PHOTO: AFP

Asian stocks extended their rebound on Friday after reassuring comments on the US economy from US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke inspired a sharp rally on Wall Street.

Gains were registered across the region, with Tokyo up 2.82 percent and Seoul 3.51 percent higher, amid a growing chorus that the recent month-long rout may have been overdone.

Investors took their cue from New York where the Dow Jones rose 1.83 percent and through the critical 11,000-point mark after Bernanke appeared to tone down his rhetoric about inflation that had spooked the market.

In Hong Kong, up 2.64 percent, dealers said strength in Japan had also added some gloss to regional sentiment with exporters leading the push on prospects noted by Bernanke that economic growth may weather higher energy costs.

Bernanke's comments in the middle of last month had suggested that further, unexpected, interest rate hikes were in the works as record commodity prices began feeding into inflation and this prompted a stampede out of equities.

The roller-coaster ride that followed took the region's markets off record and multi-year highs in a reverse that some feared could turn into a complete rout.

Australia rose 2.04 percent, while India again provided a focal point with its wild swings continuing unabated and its benchmark was up 3.56 percent.

Shanghai rose 2.32 percent while elsewhere, Singapore was up 3.1 percent, Kuala Lumpur up 0.79 percent, Bangkok was ahead 2.63 percent and Jakarta rose 5.47 percent.

Taipei

Share prices closed 2.32 percent higher, with the market building on early gains driven by Wall Street's sharp rally overnight.

Dealers said investors put aside concerns over the political crisis surrounding President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), whose aides and family members face allegations of corruption, and opted instead to follow the US lead which saw the region as a whole rebound strongly.

The weighted index rose 149.38 points at 6,575.77 on turnover of NT$110.21 billion (US$3.39 billion).

The day's gains were pared by some late profit-taking due to lingering uncertainty over the extent of the impact of the impending US interest rate hikes and the political bickerings between Chen's government and parliament, which is deliberating on an opposition proposal to seek a referendum on ousting him.

Dealers said the market, however, benefited also from the rebound in other regional markets following Wall Street's sustained rise for the second consecutive session.

"Taipei rallied alongside regional markets, thanks to the boost from Wall Street," said an analyst with a local securities house.

Taiwan Semiconductor Man-ufacturing Co closed up 2.60 to 59.40.

Tokyo

Share prices closed 2.82 percent higher, supported by gains on US stock markets and as concerns about an expected US rate hike at the end of the month eased.

Dealers said the advance recovered all the ground lost over the past volatile week as investor sentiment was roiled by fears higher US interest rates would lead to slower growth.

The Nikkei-225 index rose 408.58 points to 14,879.34. Volume rose to 2.12 billion shares from 1.73 billion shares on Thursday.

"After the second straight rebound on Wall Street, expectations have surfaced that the recent turbulence in the global equity markets ... may begin to settle," Shinko Securities analyst Yutaka Miura said.

Foreign investors were net buyers for a second straight day, encouraged by further gains on Wall Street.

Less hawkish remarks by US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke helped ease some of the fears in the market that a Fed rate hike in August looms after an expected increase this month.

"Bernanke did not flag any increased risk of inflation," Sumitomo Trust and Banking analyst Norihiro Takemura said.

But Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management, said it may be difficult for the Japanese market to sustain the Friday's gains which were largely technical.

"As a whole, the prospects for [US] monetary policy haven't changed, and the worries [about US raising interest rates further] are still out there," he said.

Toshiba jumped ¥44 to ¥724.

Seoul

Share prices closed 3.51 percent, posting the largest percentage gain since October 2004 on hopes the market has finally hit bottom after a roller-coaster ride.

Dealers said the market picked up speed after a firm start sparked by Wall Street's overnight gains, with foreign investors buying into the futures to provide additional support and hopes for a further advance.

The latest comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke -- that higher energy costs may be driving prices but inflation remained within historic ranges -- helped steady sentiment on US markets.

The fear has been that the US Fed will hike rates and continue doing so for longer than expected but Bernanke's comments suggested the central bank is still taking a measured approach to inflation.
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