Asian stocks advanced for the seventh time in eight weeks, sending a regional index to the highest level in four months, as production and earnings figures lifted confidence that the region’s economies have started to recover.
Canon Inc, the world’s largest seller of digital cameras, gained 8.1 percent after cost cuts helped the company boost its profit forecast and Japan’s production levels increased for the first time in six months. Li & Fung Ltd (利豐), the biggest supplier of toys and clothes to Wal-Mart Stores Inc, added 10 percent ahead of a report that Chinese manufacturing increased for a fifth month. Lion Nathan Ltd soared 41 percent after receiving a takeover offer.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index added 1.6 percent this week to 90.91, a level not seen since Jan. 7. Asian markets have rallied 29 percent since the MSCI benchmark dropped to an almost six-year low on March 9.
“All the things are in place for the bear market to have ended,” Anthony Bolton, London-based president of investments at Fidelity International, which oversees US$157.3 billion, told Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. “We’re going to see a slow economic upturn, but that’s enough for the stock market. If you wait for things to get better, you’ll miss the rally.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average surged 3.1 percent to 8,977.37. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index posted the region’s largest gain with an 8.3 percent advance after companies including PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia, the country’s No. 2 financial services provider, reported rising profits.
Markets shrugged off the outbreak of swine flu, and the bankruptcy of Chrysler LLC on Thursday also failed to derail market gains.
MSCI’s Asian index plunged by a record 43 percent last year as the credit crunch tipped the world’s largest economies into recession, forcing companies to idle factories and lay off workers.
Taiwan’s TAIEX index posted its steepest gain since 1991 on Thursday as the government allowed Chinese investments for the first time since a civil war ended six decades ago.
In the week to Thursday, the weighted index rose 111.80 points, or 1.90 percent, to 5,992.57 as Thursday’s rally made up losses earlier in the week on swine flu fears.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$128.28 billion (US$3.86 billion), compared with NT$130.81 billion a week earlier.
The market was closed on Friday for the Labor Day holiday.
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信), Taiwan’s third-largest phone company, surged by 7.6 percent to NT$37.65 after China Mobile Ltd (中國移動) offered to buy a 12 percent stake for NT$17.77 billion (US$529 million).
Taiwanese share prices are expected to extend their gains next week on hopes over improving relations with China, dealers said on Thursday.
Buying next week may focus on large-cap electronic and financial stocks to help push the market past the psychological 6,000-point level and challenge 6,200 points, dealers said.
However, profit taking may emerge in the second half of the week as an outbreak of swine flu remains a concern to the already weak global economy, they said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS