Asian stocks were mixed on Friday as investors awaited the release of US jobs data, while the Bank of Japan (BOJ) held fire on a fresh round of stimulus.
Investors are eyeing official US payroll data later on Friday for the latest clues about the timing of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike, widely expected by next month or December.
Tokyo recovered early losses to cap a second weekly advance, ending 0.29 percent, or 60.12 points, higher at 20,724.56.
The TAIEX was flat after easing 7.27 points to 8,442.29 on Friday, down from 8,665.34 on Friday last week. Smartphone giant HTC Corp (宏達電) slumped 10 percent to NT$63, closing at their lowest in more than a decade after it reported weak results, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) fell 0.75 percent to NT$133.
Sydney fell sharply, losing 2.41 percent, or 135.5 points, to 5,474.8 as banking shares weighed heavily on the benchmark S&P/ASX200.
Seoul closed 0.15 percent lower, shedding 3.06 points to finish at 2,010.23.
Hong Kong and China shares rebounded after the previous day’s losses, with the Hang Seng Index closing up 0.73 percent, or 177.19 points, at 24,552.47, while Shanghai ended the day 2.26 percent, or 82.66 points, higher at 3,744.20.
After a two-day meeting, the Bank of Japan on Friday held off fresh easing measures, saying the world’s No. 3 economy was steadily recovering. Analysts widely expect policymakers to act later in the year.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he would consider expanding its record ¥80 trillion (US$640 billion) annual asset-buying scheme if weak oil prices keep holding back inflation.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia’s big four banks tumbled, led by ANZ, whose weaker than expected profits and A$3 billion (US$2.2 billion) capital-raising program to meet tougher regulatory requirements surprised the market. ANZ closed 7.49 percent lower at A$30.14, while shares in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 3.84 percent, Westpac dropped 3.26 percent and National Australia Bank closed down 2.29 percent.
Australia’s financial regulator last month said the nation’s biggest banks had to hold more capital reserves as part of a global move to strengthen the sector after the financial crisis.
In Shanghai, Bloomberg News reported state-backed China Securities Finance Corp (中國證金), tasked with stabilizing the market, is seeking an additional 2 trillion yuan (US$322 billion), which would bring its support funds to 5 trillion yuan.
China’s equities have been on a rollercoaster since Beijing launched a major package to stabilize markets after Shanghai collapsed in mid-June, falling about 30 percent in three weeks after a major rally in the first half of the year.
Stock gains on Friday came ahead of the weekend release of Chinese trade and inflation figures for July, which analysts believe will show weakness in the world’s second-largest economy.
In other markets on Friday:
In Wellington, the NZX-50 was down 1.01 percent, or 60.03 points, at 5,868.66.
In Manila, shares closed 0.76 percent, or 57.43 points, lower at 7,532.52.
Mumbai fell 0.22 percent, or 61.74 points to end at 28,236.39 points.
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],”