Asian stocks rose, paring a second weekly decline on the benchmark index, as fewer Americans filed for jobless claims, the yen held at a six-year low against the US dollar and Scotland voted to reject independence.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) advanced 0.3 percent to 144.45 as of 4:11pm in Hong Kong. The measure was heading for a 1 percent decline this week after the weakest growth in Chinese industrial output since 2008 added to evidence the world’s second-biggest economy was losing momentum.
“The market can grind higher into the middle of next year,” Mark Lister, Wellington-based head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners Ltd, said by telephone. “With central banks still being pretty supportive, with economic growth ticking over and with earnings growth from most regions still looking decent, you can really see there aren’t any better alternatives to equities. We’re staying overweight equities.”
US jobless claims fell by 36,000 to 280,000 in the period ended Sept. 13, the US Labor Department said yesterday. The median forecast of 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decline to 305,000. Those already collecting unemployment benefits fell to a more than seven-year low.
Shares in Taiwan closed little changed on Friday, as investors decided to lock in earlier gains when the index moved closer to 9,300 points, the nearest level of technical resistance, dealers said.
While many large cap high-tech stocks barely budged because of low turnover, select “Apple concept stocks” such as smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光) and metal casing maker Catcher Technology Co (可成) outperformed the broader market on optimism over iPhone 6 sales, they said.
The TAIEX ended up 3.42 points, or 0.04 percent higher from Thursday, at 9,240.45, after fluctuating between 9,235.44 and 9,289.22. It increased 0.2 percent from 9,223.18 on Friday last week.
“I expect the low trading volume in the local bourse to continue amid caution toward equity markets in China after Beijing reported disappointing economic data recently. So narrow range trading will dominate the local market over the next few sessions,” Hua Nan Securities (華南永昌證券) analyst Stan Chang said.
Japan’s TOPIX gained 1.1 percent as the yen slid 0.4 percent to 109.12 per US dollar on Friday, falling for a third day. That is the first time since September 2008 that it has traded at 109 per US dollar.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.6 percent with gaming shares Sands China Ltd (金沙中國) and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd (銀河娛樂集團) rising the most. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland stocks traded in the territory fell 0.2 percent.
South Korea’s KOSPI and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index both rose 0.3 percent. Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.3 percent, New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index advanced 0.5 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6 percent and India S&P BSE Sensex Index added 0.1 percent. Philippine markets were closed owing to a huge storm battering the capital.
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
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
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
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],”