Asian stocks rose this week, giving the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index its biggest advance since May, amid renewed confidence the global economy is recovering.
CapitaLand Ltd, Singapore＊s biggest developer, climbed 10 percent as Singapore upgraded its economic growth forecasts. Alumina Ltd, partner in the world＊s biggest producer of the material used to make aluminum, jumped 15 percent in Sydney as commodity prices climbed.
Bank of Communications Co (拶蠯錞?) gained 8.3 percent in Hong Kong as economist Nouriel Roubini said the worst of the financial crisis was over.
※The recovery is gaining traction,§ said Nader Naeimi, a strategist at AMP Capital Investors in Sydney, which manages about US$95 billion. ※Even if we don＊t see spectacular growth, a stabilization should be enough to support a market rally.§
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index added 2.7 percent to 103.38 this week. The gauge has rallied 47 percent from a five-year low on March 9 amid optimism stimulus policies around the world will revive the global economy. The MSCI World Index gained 6.7 percent this week, the most since March.
Hong Kong＊s Hang Seng Index climbed 6.2 percent, while Japan＊s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.2 percent. Indonesia＊s Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.6 percent yesterday, paring its weekly gain to 2.1 percent, after bomb blasts killed at least eight people in the city.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index has risen this week as government reports showed economic growth accelerated in China and US manufacturing improved. Intel Corp forecast sales that beat analyst estimates, while International Business Machines Corp raised its profit forecast.
Stocks on the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index are trading at an average 43 times reported earnings, up from the 15 times shares were trading at during the market＊s trough in March. Companies on the S&P 500 are currently at 14 times profit.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to continue their upward trend next week with interest moving to old-economy firms from their high tech counterparts, dealers said.
Shares in companies that have close business ties with China may benefit from a technical rebound after recent heavy losses, while property stocks are likely to gain on hopes of rising property prices, they said.
However, as the market moves closer to the key 7,000 point mark, resistance may cap the gains during trade next week, while a strong technical support may be seen at around 6,600 points, dealers said.
For the week to July 17, the weighted index rose 81.13 points or 1.20 percent to 6,850.99 after a 1.57 percent increase a week earlier.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$128.01 billion (US$3.89 billion), compared with NT$119.37 billion a week ago.
The bellwether electronic sector served as a driver to the gains seen this week amid optimism over the outlook of the global high tech sector, helping the market recoup Monday＊s heavy losses.
※I expect the momentum of the electronic sector will be 〝weakening next week on technical factors,§ President Securities (巘擩嬾盺) analyst Steven Huang said.
※As a market laggard, the old economy sector is expected to take its turn to lift the market,§ Huang said.
China chips, in particular, may attract more buying after the government reiterated that talks on a bilateral trade agreement with China remain on track, Huang said.
※After Goldman Sachs and Intel reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, market confidence seems to have recovered to some extent,§ he said.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
RSS