Asian stocks rose for the first time in seven weeks, led by shipping and commodities companies, on higher cargo rates and raw-materials prices.
China Shipping Development Co and BHP Billiton Ltd both had their steepest one-week advance since August. Pioneer Corp, the third-biggest Japanese maker of plasma televisions, had its biggest weekly gain since 1984 after Japan's economic growth accelerated and US retail sales climbed unexpectedly.
"The volumes of raw-material traffic are going to remain reasonably strong," said Angus Gluskie, who helps manage the equivalent of US$500 million at White Funds Management in Sydney. "People have also remained reasonably comfortable on the outlook of the diversified miners and in the short run, prices appear quite robust."
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 2.8 percent this week, trimming this year's loss to 8.3 percent, and ending a six-week retreat. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose 4.7 percent. Singapore's stock benchmark was the biggest gainer, adding 5.3 percent.
A regional measure that includes shipping lines advanced to its highest since Jan. 15, as did the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities.
MSCI's Asian index had its biggest gain in three weeks on Thursday, when Japan said economic growth accelerated to 3.7 percent last quarter. Separately, the US Commerce Department said retail sales gained 0.3 percent last month, compared with a 0.3 percent drop expected by economists in a Bloomberg.
TAIPEI
Taiwanese share prices closed up 0.14 percent, dealers said.
The weighted index closed up 11.09 points at 7,876.37 on turnover of NT$108.05 billion (US$3.41 billion).
"From a regional perspective, the Taipei bourse stood out as an outperformer," said Arch Shih (施薄元), an analyst at Taiwan International Securities (金鼎證券), as he noted big falls on other bourses.
Helping offset concerns over the US economic outlook were expectations that more funds could flow into the local bourse due to the Taiwan dollar's recent strength, he said.
TOKYO
Japanese share prices closed almost unchanged, recovering early losses despite persistent worries about the outlook for the US economy, dealers said.
They said investors squared their positions ahead of a long weekend in the US. There was little impact from a widely expected decision by the Bank of Japan to leave interest rates unchanged.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index closed down 3.89 points or 0.03 percent at 13,622.56, while the broader TOPIX index of all first-section shares edged up 2.45 points or 0.18 percent to 1,334.89.
The Nikkei rose by 4.65 percent over the past week.
HONG KONG
Hong Kong share prices closed up 0.5 percent, dealers said.
The Hang Seng index closed up 126.75 points at 24,148.43. For the week, the index was up 678.97 points or 2.89 percent.
SYDNEY
Australian share prices closed down 1.4 percent, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 78.2 points at 5,606.6, while the broader All Ordinaries finished 68.4 points lower at 5,679.8.
SHANGHAI
Chinese share prices closed 1.21 percent lower, dealers said.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index, which covers both A and B shares, closed down 55.19 points to 4,497.13.
Figures showed a jump in bank lending, raising fears of a rate hike.
The Shanghai A-share index fell 1.21 percent to 4,719.39. The Shenzhen A-share index was down 0.73 percent at 1,441.87.
The Shanghai B-share index fell 1.19 percent to 311.55. The Shenzhen B-share index was down 0.74 percent at 656.16.
SEOUL
South Korean shares closed down 0.2 percent, dealers said.
The KOSPI index closed down 2.68 points at 1,694.77. The index fell 1.8 points for the week.
SINGAPORE
Singapore share prices closed up 1.41 percent, dealer said.
The blue chip Straits Times index rose 43.09 points to 3,088.68.
KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysian share prices fell 0.6 percent, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite index ended down 8.91 points at 1,427.19.
BANGKOK
Thai share prices closed 0.66 percent lower, dealers said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 5.46 points to 826.65 and the blue-chip SET-50 lost 3.23 points to 598.05.
JAKARTA
Indonesian share prices closed 0.5 percent higher, dealers said.
The Jakarta Composite index closed up 12.55 points at 2,688.19.
MANILA
Philippine share prices closed 0.9 percent lower, dealers said.
The composite index lost 28.75 points at 3,182.85. The broader all-share index fell 12.38 points to 1,942.66.
WELLINGTON
New Zealand share prices closed down 1.13 percent, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index was down 39.60 points at 3,510.81.
"There's nothing to mirror the performance of the market. But people hate uncertainty and so they are quite happy to sit on the sidelines," said David Price, a broker with Forsyth Barr.
MUMBAI
Indian share prices rose 1.96 percent, dealers said.
The 30-share benchmark SENSEX index rose 348.62 points to 18,115.25.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the