Asian markets headed for their largest weekly gain in a month, following US equities higher, as a rebound in crude oil buoyed energy producers and Hong Kong shares extended a world-beating rally.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1 percent to 139.17 as of 4:10pm in Hong Kong, near a one-year high and taking gains this week to 2.5 percent. Japan’s TOPIX index capped its best week in a month and foreign buying sent Indian shares toward the longest stretch of weekly advances since March. Hong Kong equities reached the highest level since November after earnings topped estimates and investors shrugged off disappointing Chinese economic data.
“As long as US shares continue to rally, equity markets will remain stable,” Sydney-based CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said by telephone. “The rally looks sustainable. What we’re looking at is a climb into the wall of worry into the year-end, with elevated risks given these abnormal monetary conditions.”
After a choppy start to the year, the Asian benchmark gauge climbed 23 percent from a February low through Thursday, shrugging off the effects of Britain’s vote to leave the EU as central banks unleash further monetary easing while data spurs confidence in the world’s largest economy.
The TAIEX on Friday rose 0.2 percent to 9,150.39, up from 9,092.12 on Friday last week.
The TOPIX advanced 0.6 percent on Friday as Japan shares resumed trading after Thursday’s holiday. The measure rose 3.4 percent this week as the yen held losses.
India’s S&P BSE SENSEX headed for a third weekly increase as foreign funds have been net buyers for 24 days in a row, the longest stretch since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014.
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.8 percent as CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd climbed after earnings beat estimates. The measure has surged 14 percent in the past three months, the most among major global benchmark gauges, amid an improving interest-rate outlook and signs of stability in the city’s property market.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland Chinese shares traded in Hong Kong surged 1.4 percent, extending gains for a seventh day.
The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.6 percent as stake purchases by China Evergrande Group fueled optimism that the pace of merger activity in the property industry will accelerate.
China’s recent economic stabilization faltered last month as factory output, retail sales and investment all slowed, missing economists estimates. Industrial production rose 6 percent from a year earlier in July, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. Retail sales climbed 10.2 percent last month, while fixed-asset investment increased 8.1 percent in the first seven months of the year.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.4 percent, while New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.1 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI increased 0.1 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.1 percent. Vietnam’s VN Index slid 0.7 percent, paring gains this week to 4.5 percent, the most since October last year.
CNOOC Ltd (中國海洋石油) advanced 3.2 percent in Hong Kong, pacing gains among energy shares, as crude oil rose to almost US$44 a barrel. Nippon Paint Holdings Co jumped 7.3 percent in Tokyo after reporting quarterly earnings improved. International Container Terminal Services Inc surged 10 percent in Manila, taking a three-day rally to 22 percent, the most since 2009, as Morgan Stanley and HSBC Holdings PLC upgraded the stock.
Noble Group Ltd slumped 3.9 percent in Singapore after the commodities trader posted a quarterly loss and net debt increased as the company sought to raise cash.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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