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Asia posts weekly gain on growth optimism

Asian stocks rose in the past week, led by consumer, technology and financial companies on optimism the global economy is rebounding.

Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s biggest maker of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) televisions, added 6.1 percent as a government report showed the US economy shrank less than expected. Bridgestone Corp, the world’s largest tiremaker, climbed 7.8 percent in Tokyo, after narrowing its loss forecast. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd (中國工商銀行) gained 5 percent in Hong Kong amid speculation loan growth will boost earnings.

“Investors still believe the global economy will start to recover later this year and this confidence is leading to resilience in the market,” said Naoki Fujiwara, who oversees the equivalent of US$3.7 billion at Shinkin Asset Management Co in Tokyo.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index gained 2.2 percent in the past five days to 103.66, recouping some of the previous week’s 3.5 percent decline. This week’s gain extended the gauge’s rally from a more than five-year low on March 9 to 47 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 3.8 percent.

MSCI’s Asian index plunged by a record 43 percent last year as the credit crunch tipped the world’s largest economies into recession. The rally since March has been fueled by optimism that government stimulus measures and interest-rate cuts worldwide will succeed in reviving global growth.

Taiwanese share prices are expected to extend gains next week as institutional investors tend to boost share prices to dress up their books with the second quarter coming to an end, dealers said on Friday.

Blue chips that have close business ties with China are likely to benefit most as the government is scheduled to release regulatory details next week to govern Chinese investments in Taiwan, they said.

However, the electronic sector may lag as investors will possibly keep adjusting high-tech portfolios after the recent upturn, they added.

Likely institutional buying is expected to push the index towards 6,700 in the first half of the week, but profit-taking may emerge with technical support expected at around 6,300, dealers said.

For the week to Friday, the weighted index rose 232.41 points, or 3.73 percent, to 6,463.56 after a 3.37 percent fall a week earlier.

Average daily turnover stood at NT$108.56 billion (US$3.29 billion), compared with NT$99.87 billion a week ago.



Other regional markets:

KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.15 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 1.66 points to 1,075.77.

JAKARTA: Down 0.19 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index lost 3.97 points to 2,040.19.

MANILA: Up 0.40 percent. The composite index rose 9.88 points to 2,477.44.

MUMBAI: Up 2.92 percent. The 30-share SENSEX rose 419.02 points to 14,764.64.
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