Asian shares rose this week, driving the regional benchmark index to its sixth week of gains, as global manufacturing reports beat forecasts and central banks vowed to maintain stimulus.
Hitachi Metals Ltd soared 20 percent after forecasting that its net income will more than double, while Genting Malaysia Bhd, the casino operator controlled by billionaire Lim Kok Thay, jumped 13 percent. Fanuc Corp gained 9.5 percent after the Japanese robotics maker’s orders beat estimates and AIA Group Ltd, the second-largest Asia-based insurer by market value, advanced 3.6 percent after reporting net income climbed to a record US$1.93 billion in the six months to May. Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, fell 1.3 percent as profit missed expectations.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index edged up 0.1 percent this week to 135.59, climbing for the sixth straight week with more than two stocks gaining for every one that fell. Six of the 10 industry groups on the measure rose on the week. Japan’s market drove the advance as the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average posted a 2.4 percent increase, its biggest jump in a month.
“As the yen continues to weaken, profit at Japanese exporters will improve. That should drive earnings upgrades, boosting the share market,” said Daphne Roth, Singapore-based head of Asia equity research at ABN Amro Private Bank. “The market will remain volatile as investors await Japan’s economic reforms.”
The TAIEX fell 0.6 percent to finish at 8,099.88, compared with 8,149.40 on July 26. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) rose 0.39 percent to NT$76.9 on Friday, while smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) fell 3.7 percent to NT$143.0.
Elsewhere, Japan’s TOPIX gained 2.5 percent to 1,196.17 for the week, as the yen weakened against the US dollar, boosting the earnings outlook for the country’s exporters. Of the 183 companies on the measure that have posted quarterly results and for which Bloomberg has estimates, 58 percent beat projections.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1 percent after China’s government moved to alleviate a cash crunch as economic growth slows. The nation’s central bank injected funds into markets through reverse-repurchase agreements for the first time since February.
South Korea’s KOSPI added 0.7 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.5 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index was little changed for the week.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1.3 percent last month after China pledged to do more to support a transition from reliance on exports to domestic demand in the world’s second- largest economy. Shares on the gauge traded at 13.2 times estimated earnings as of Friday, compared with multiples of 15.5 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 13.8 for the STOXX Europe 600 Index.
The index reversed declines from earlier in the week after the US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee, which has floated the prospect of reductions to its US$85 billion of monthly bond purchases should economic risks abate, said on Wednesday that while growth should pick up, persistently low inflation may hamper the recovery.
Factory output from the US to China and Europe expanded last month, reports showed on Thursday, while US jobless claims fell to a five-year low. The data came as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said interest rates will probably remain low for an extended period and after the Fed retained its US$85 billion-a-month bond-buying program.
China’s manufacturing gauge unexpectedly strengthened in last month, data showed on Thursday. Manufacturing growth in the UK accelerated last month, while a factory gauge for the eurozone resumed growth after two years of contraction, separate reports released showed on Thursday.
In other markets on Friday:
Wellington added 0.82 percent, or 37.12 points, from Thursday to close at 4,582.89 on Friday.
Manila closed 1.91 percent lower, shedding 127.49 points to 6,533.95.
Mumbai fell 0.79 percent or 153.17 points to 19,162.02 points.
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
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained