Asian stocks rose for the fourth consecutive week, the longest rally in 18 months, as G20 leaders agreed on measures to fight the global recession.
Toyota Motor Corp, which gets 37 percent of its sales from North America, gained 14 percent in Tokyo as US auto sales rose from a 27-year low. HSBC Holdings PLC, Europe’s largest bank, rose 13 percent in Hong Kong as US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said economies are showing “traction.” China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (中國石油化學), Asia’s biggest oil refiner, climbed 10 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc recommended investors buy the stock.
“We’ve seen some tangible evidence that the global economy is on the path to recovery,” said Naoki Fujiwara, chief fund manager at Tokyo-based Shinkin Asset Management Co, which oversees about US$6.1 billion. “This is all about sentiment and people are interpreting whatever they see in a positive way.”
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose 1.4 percent to 86.70 the past five days, the first time stocks have rallied for a fourth-straight week since October 2007.
Consumer-related and financial companies led the advance on the gauge, which has jumped more than 20 percent from a five-year low on March 9, the level that technically indicates a bull market.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 3 percent, erasing its decline for the year. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1.4 percent, while South Korea’s KOSPI Index added 3.7 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index 1.7 percent.
Governments from the US to Japan are widening measures to ease the financial crisis, which has caused US$1.29 trillion of losses worldwide, and to avert what the World Bank predicts will be the first global economic contraction since World War II.
Following an April 2 summit in London, G20 policy makers proposed a regulatory blueprint that places stricter limits on hedge funds and other financiers, while pledging to triple the resources of the International Monetary Fund and to give China and other developing economies a greater say in the way the world economy is run.
MSCI’s Asian benchmark gauge has pared losses this year to about 3.2 percent on signs government action to bolster growth is working. The gains drove average valuation of companies on the index to 17.7 times profit, the highest level since Nov. 30, 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the G20’s proposals but that doesn’t mean I’m buying into this rally,” said Stephen Halmarick, Sydney-based head of investment markets research at Colonial First State Global Asset Management, which holds about US$90 billion in assets.
“Policy is certainly working in the right direction, but it’s a bit premature to say we’ve reached the bottom,” he said.
Elpida Memory Inc soared 15 percent to ¥845 in Tokyo after beating US rival Micron Technology Inc to partner with Taiwan Memory Co (台灣記憶體公司).
Taiwanese share prices are expected to gain further next week as foreign funds continue to come in on a stronger New Taiwan dollar, dealers said on Friday.
Short-covering by foreign institutional investors is likely to lift the financial sector, which had been badly hit by the global financial crisis and lagged behind the broader market, they said.
China chips that have close business ties with Beijing may benefit from optimism towards Beijing’s efforts to boost its domestic demand, they said.
However, investors have turned cautious about the bellwether electronic sector ahead of the releases of last month’s revenue reports starting from next week after many firms claimed they have received large orders from China, dealers said.
The market is expected to test the nearest resistance level of around 5,700 points next week, while adequate liquidity may keep the index above 5,300 points if any profit taking emerges, dealers said.
For the week to Friday, the weighted index rose 138.93 points or 2.58 percent to 5,529.63 after an 8.65 percent increase a week earlier.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$122.78 billion (US$3.68 billion), compared with NT$133.74 billion in the previous week.
The market suffered heavy profit taking on Monday after a recent strong showing, but returned to the upward trend over the rest of the week.
“The movements showed investors were willing to chase prices. They have been upbeat that the global economy will improve and the market upside will continue,” Grand Cathay Securities (大華證券) analyst Mars Hsu said.
Other Asian markets on Friday:
KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.21 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 1.94 points to close at 907.0.
MANILA: Up 2.30 percent. The composite index rose 45.71 points to 2,028.59.
WELLINGTON: Up 1.11 percent higher. The NZX-50 index rose 28.68 points to 2,614.48.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
‘WORLD’S LOSS’: Taiwan’s exclusion robs the world of the benefits it could get from one of the foremost practitioners of disease prevention and public health, Minister Chiu said Taiwan should be allowed to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an irreplaceable contributor to global health and disease prevention efforts, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. He made the comment at a news conference in Taipei, hours before a Taiwanese delegation was to depart for Geneva, Switzerland, seeking to meet with foreign representatives for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the WHA, the WHO’s annual decisionmaking meeting, which would be held from Monday next week to May 27. As of yesterday, Taiwan had yet to receive an invitation. Taiwan has much to offer to the international community’s
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the