Asian property stocks were buoyed this week as Hong Kong developers advanced on speculation China will maintain stimulus spending, while technology-related companies declined.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index fell 2.6 percent to 121.62 this week. The gauge has climbed 69 percent from a five-year low on March 9 as better-than-estimated economic and earnings reports increase optimism that the global economy is recovering.
“Investors haven’t forgotten the nightmare we had last year and are quick to sell when they get anxious,” said Kiyoshi Ishigane, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co, which oversees about US$56 billion in Tokyo. “Company profits are gradually returning, but we need to discern whether the stock price already reflects the improvement or not.”
China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed for the third straight week after central bank adviser Fan Gang said the government should maintain its stimulus spending for another year. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.5 percent as the nation’s central bank signaled more interest-rate increases as the economy improves.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.3 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 3 percent.
Reports from China this week showed industrial production and retail sales grew at a faster pace last month. Still, the Chinese economy expanded 8.9 percent in the third quarter, less than the 9 percent expected by economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to encounter selling next week as the bellwether high-tech sector remains pressured on profit-taking, dealers said Friday.
Investors, in particular, are watching closely how large-cap electronics firms will report their earnings for the third quarter, aiming to pin down the path of global demand recovery, they said.
The market’s upside is expected to be limited with a cap at around 7,700 points next week, while any downside pressure may see technical support at 7,400, dealers said.
For the week to Friday, the weighted index fell 65.82 points, or 0.85 percent, to 7,649.28 after a 1.89 percent increase a week earlier.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$123.52 billion (US$3.81 billion), compared with NT$133.12 billion the week before.
“Institutional investors’ holdings in electronic firms remain high. It is possible for them to continue to cut positions for profit,” Mega Securities Co (兆豐證券) analyst Alex Huang (黃國偉) said.
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