Asian stocks closed higher on Friday with investors continuing to track Wall Street, where fears over potential interest rate hikes are receding.
Positive sentiment in New York had already improved after reports earlier in the weak implied inflation was being kept in check and this argument received additional support overnight from US inflation data at the wholesale level.
This showed "core" prices excluding food and energy rose a tame 0.2 percent and Wall Street's latest rally continued, which pushed Tokyo up 0.32 percent, while Taipei surged 1.45 percent and Sydney was 0.52 percent higher.
Manila leapt 1.18 percent, Hong Kong rose 0.72 percent, Jakarta gained 0.58 percent, Singapore advanced a slight 0.22 percent, while Seoul was up a milder 0.17 percent. All five benchmarks closed at record highs.
Elsewhere, Bangkok gained 1.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur was 0.26 percent higher and Wellington rose 0.45 percent. Shanghai was up 0.43 percent, but investors there were jittery amid talk of further potential moves to cool the markets.
TAIPEI
Share prices closed up 1.45 percent, striking another near-seven-year high as US economic data alleviated concerns over possible interest rate hikes.
Dealers said insurance companies led the market higher on expectations of an improvement in earnings after a statutory revision, which should allow them greater exposure to overseas investments.
The weighted index closed up 122.92 points at 8,573.64 on turnover of NT$151.73 billion (US$4.58 billion).
"Expectations that the recent liquidity-driven bull run still [has further to go] overrode whatever uncertainties people may harbor ahead of a long holiday," Jih Sun Securities Investment Consulting Co (
Lien said that solid purchases across the board in heavily weighted stocks also proved effective in forcing short-covering among those who might have adopted a more bearish stance in their June future contracts, which are due to be settled next week.
"The tricky thing is that those who have decided on an investment based on assumptions of a negative surprise during Taipei's recess will be caught off guard once again if Wall Street and others just keep moving up," Lien said.
TOKYO
Share prices rebounded for a second straight day after a Wall Street extended its recovery and the yen slid to fresh lows against the dollar in a boost to exporters.
But dealers said the market was somewhat cautious ahead of a press conference by the head of the Japanese central bank, which earlier in the day left its key interest rate unchanged, as widely expected.
The NIKKEI-225 index rose 129.20 points to 17,971.49. Turnover rose to 1.97 billion shares from 1.85 billion on Thursday.
HONG KONG
Share prices hit a record close as China stocks received a big boost from a continued shift of funds from the mainland by some investors.
Dealers said sentiment was also supported by Wall Street's extended gains overnight after the release of tame US core wholesale inflation data.
They attributed a significant portion of it to China's expanded qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII) program which allows mainland investors to buy H-shares in Hong Kong.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 149.79 points at 21,017.05.
SEOUL
Share prices rose 0.17 percent to another record finish, with sentiment boosted by Wall Street's rally and the release of frozen North Korean funds from a Macau bank.
They dealers said hopes for a local economic recovery and better corporate profitability combined with ample liquidity to drive and sustain the upward trend.
The KOSPI index closed up 3.08 points at 1,772.26.
SHANGHAI
Share prices closed 0.43 percent higher in volatile trading, recovering from early losses after one of China's largest lenders, Construction Bank, announced it planned a stock offer in Shanghai.
Dealers said the market clawed back gains as investors took their lead from the bank's announcement after slumping on the release of fixed asset investment data which reignited worries that the government will soon move to brake the runaway economy.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 17.66 points or 0.43 percent at 4,132.87.
SYDNEY
Share prices closed 0.52 percent higher, supported by improved commodities and a rebound on Wall Street.
Dealers said major resource stocks led the market up as concerns about the prospect of higher interest rates, both locally and globally, eased.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 32.6 points at 6,293.8.
SINGAPORE
Share prices closed at a new all-time high with investor confidence energized by Wall Street's overnight bounce.
The Straits Times Index gained 7.73 points to 3,581.16.
KUALA LUMPUR
Share prices closed 0.26 percent higher in thin trade with select construction and property counters leading gains.
Dealers said property stocks were higher on news that more supportive measures will be introduced for the sector in the 2008 Budget announcement in September.
The composite index was up 3.47 points at 1,360.65.
BANGKOK
Share prices closed 1.27 percent higher, led by robust regional markets, as investors chased gains in the banking and energy sectors.
The composite index rose 9.32 points to 744.25 on turnover of 2.63 billion shares.
JAKARTA
Share prices finished 0.58 percent higher at a fresh all-time closing high, bolstered by a further rebound on Wall Street overnight, with miners well supported.
The composite index closed up 12.228 points at 2,120.640 on volume of 4.96 billion shares.
MANILA
Share prices gained 1.18 percent to reach a new record close, thanks to the rally on Wall Street where economic data indicated inflation was being kept in check.
The composite index climbed 42.67 points to 3,671.29 on volume of 7.3 billion shares.
WELLINGTON
Share prices closed 0.45 percent higher amid gains in key overseas markets, although investors kept a cautious eye on the local currency.
The NZX-50 gross index rose 18.79 points to 4,212.46.
MUMBAI
Share prices fell 0.29 percent as investors sold in late trade to lock-in gains in a choppy market.
The 30-share SENSEX index fell 41.01 points to 14,162.71, after gaining 200.69 points on Thursday.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy