Asian stocks edged higher yesterday, tracking gains in Europe, where hopes grew that regional governments would help Greece through its debt crisis, dealers said.
Gains were muted, however, as many Asian markets stayed closed for the Lunar New Year celebrations and the region lacked a lead from Wall Street following the Presidents’ Day holiday.
The focus was on Brussels, where European finance ministers began two days of talks on Monday to assess their next moves to help Greece through its financial woes.
Pressure mounted on Greece to take tougher action to slash its debt and public deficit, with Athens insisting that Europe spell out what it will offer in the way of an eventual bailout.
Tokyo closed up 0.21 percent, with the Nikkei-225 rising 20.95 points to 10,034.25. Seoul added 0.46 percent and Sydney climbed 0.49 percent.
European stock markets rallied yesterday as the banking sector traded higher in the wake of bumper earnings from Barclays, which helped to offset lingering uncertainty over Greece’s debt.
In early trading, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.95 percent at 5,217.26 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 increased 1.05 percent to 5,569.70 points and in Paris the CAC 40 added 0.79 percent to 3,637.59.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares rose 0.89 percent to reach 2,707.86 points.
Hopes of some progress in easing Greece’s predicament helped the single European currency to claw back some ground in Asia.
The euro rebounded to US$1.364 in Tokyo afternoon trade from 1.3607 in late London trading on Monday. The greenback slipped to ¥89.79 from ¥89.98.
Greece is already committed to reducing its public deficit by 4 percentage points this year, from a predicted 12.7 percent of national output, under emergency plans submitted for EU ministers’ approval.
Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou called for “more explicit” backing from the EU.
“My guess is that what will stop markets attacking Greece at the moment is a further more explicit message that makes operational what has been decided last Thursday at the European Council,” he told reporters.
Financial stocks led share prices higher in Australia, where the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 22.3 points to 4,567.8 points.
Analysts said a strong quarterly cash earnings result from the nation’s second-largest lender Westpac had lifted the sector, which was also boosted by the European plans to help Greece.
“Solid leads from London got the ball rolling, but it was the sharply better-than-expected trading update from Westpac Banking Corporation, featuring a large reduction in impairment charges, that boosted market sentiment,” IG Markets analyst Ben Potter said.
Financial markets in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
In other markets, Bangkok rose 3.64 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 692.73. Jakarta gained 41.04 points, or 1.63 percent, to reach 2,558.50.
Manila ended up 4.47 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,967.71. Wellington closed up 28.07 points, or 0.92 percent, at 3,087.61.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
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