Asian stocks advanced for the second time in three weeks as companies reported higher-than-estimated profit and US economic reports spurred confidence the global economy was strengthening.
Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd surged 21 percent in Sydney after profit beat analyst estimates. Westfield Group, which operates 55 US shopping malls, gained 9.2 percent as a gauge of US home prices advanced. Casio Computer Co, the maker of Exilim cameras and G-Shock watches, surged 9.1 percent on merger speculation. BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd led the region’s banks higher as the threat of loan losses receded.
“People are generally happy that things are improving,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage about US$1 billion at Pengana Capital Ltd in Melbourne. “It’s now a question of how strong that is going to be. We’re probably still going to get the occasional rogue figure from time to time.”
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index gained 3 percent this week to 113.94, taking the gauge’s rally since hitting an almost six-year low on March 9 to 61.4 percent. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.9 percent in the week after Australian business investment unexpectedly rose in the second quarter.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 2.9 percent to 10,534.14 as a report showed the nation’s exports fell less than expected. The country holds parliamentary elections today, which the opposition Democratic Party of Japan is expected to win by a landslide, newspaper polls show.
A Japanese government report this week showed the country’s exports fell 36.5 percent last month from a year earlier, less than some economists predicted.
In Australia, capital spending gained 3.3 percent in the three months through June from the first quarter, the Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, whereas the median estimate of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 5 percent decrease.
Taiwanese shares are expected to face cautious sentiment in the week ahead as a visit by the Dalai Lama could lead to cross-strait tensions, dealers said on Friday.
The Tibetan leader’s trip is seen to keep investors on the sidelines, leading to thin trading and preventing the market from passing 6,900-7,000 points, dealers said.
For the week to Friday, the weighted index rose 155.06 points, or 2.33 percent, to 6,809.86 after a 5.87 percent fall a week earlier.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$89.32 billion (US$2.71 billion), compared with NT$92.95 billion a week ago.
The Dalai Lama is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan today to comfort victims of Morakot, which struck two weeks ago, killing 543 people.
China has strongly opposed the trip after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) approved the visit.
“Investor confidence has been undermined by recent non-economic factors. The Dalai Lama visit may add further impact,” Grand Cathay Securities Corp (大華證券) analyst Mars Hsu said.
The local bourse has been hard hit by swine flue fears and as the government faced heavy criticism for its slow response to Typhoon Morakot.
However, Hsu said electronic book makers may attract more attention on relatively low valuations.
Other markets on Friday:
SINGAPORE: Flat. The blue-chip Straits Times Index edged 0.57 points or 0.02 percent higher to 2,642.80.
KUALA LUMPUR: Down 0.22 percent.The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 2.63 points to 1,174.27. Market players stepped back ahead of a long holiday weekend, dealers said.
MANILA: Up 0.10 percent. The composite index gained 2.78 points to 2,884.18. News of the economy growing 1 percent in the first half helped lift the index. The rise was moderated due to “concerns from the investors because the valuations are a bit pricey,” April Lee‑Tan of Citiseconline said.
MUMBAI: Up 0.9 percent. The 30-share SENSEX rose 141.27 points to 15,922.34. The index marked up its seventh straight day of gains on hopes of a sustained economic recovery, dealers said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)