Asian stocks rose on Friday, following gains in global markets, as Chinese equities rebounded for a second day and Greece submitted a bailout plan similar to that proposed by its creditors.
China Huishan Dairy Holdings Co (輝山乳業) surged 16 percent in Hong Kong to lead gains on the regional benchmark index after the milk producer’s parent bought shares in the company. BYD Co (比亞迪) jumped 11 percent, with the Warren Buffett-backed electric-car maker paring its fourth straight weekly drop. Fast Retailing Co tumbled 6 percent in Tokyo after the apparel retailer said unseasonably cool weather dampened demand for summer clothes.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.5 percent to 141.38 on Friday in Hong Kong, but still dropped 3.7 percent from the previous week.
Greece’s package includes pension savings and tax increases as part of its bid to remain in the euro. EU leaders are to discuss the proposal today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index jumped 2.2 percent on Thursday, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.2 percent, as a rebound in Chinese equities also boosted sentiment.
“Signs that the proposal Greece has put together has concessions on longstanding issues and is similar to tabled proposals is reducing risk aversion,” Sam Tuck, a senior currency strategist in Auckland at ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd, said by instant message.
“The fact that China managed to close up across the board has certainly reduced market fear, but it’s still very much in the forefront of people’s minds,” Tuck said.
The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 4.5 percent, capping the benchmark index’s biggest two-day gain since 2008, as unprecedented government intervention helped curb an equity rout that erased US$3.9 trillion in less than a month.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland shares traded in Hong Kong climbed 3.6 percent.
China’s securities regulator this week banned major shareholders, corporate executives and directors from selling stakes in listed companies for six months, its latest effort to stem the equities slump.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index increased 2.1 percent. Japan’s TOPIX added 0.2 percent as the yen weakened.
South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.2 percent. Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 0.4 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index lost 0.2 percent.
Taiwan’s stock and bond markets were shut on Friday as Typhoon Chan-Hom approached the nation. Schools and government offices were closed in five cities, including Taipei and Taoyuan.
The TAIEX closed lower on Thursday, extending losses from a day earlier, but bargain hunting emerged during the session, encouraged by a technical rebound in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets. The weighted index closed 0.7 percent lower from Thursday at 8,914.13 from Thursday. It fell 4.7 percent from the previous week’s 9.358.23.
Elsewhere in Asia, Manila closed up 0.2 percent, Jakarta rose 0.4 percent, Kuala Lumpur gained 0.8 percent, Bangkok climbed 0.8 percent and Mumbai edged up 0.3 percent.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure