Asian stocks advanced this week, lifting the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index for the first time in a month, after G20 governments agreed to maintain stimulus efforts and Japan’s machinery orders grew more than estimated.
BHP Billiton Ltd and rival Rio Tinto Group both jumped in Sydney amid speculation looser monetary policies will continue to sustain inflows of cash into equities. Tractor maker Kubota Corp soared 9.9 percent in Tokyo. HSBC Holdings PLC gained 8.9 percent in Hong Kong this week after saying third-quarter profit was “significantly” higher than a year ago.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index advanced 1.6 percent to 118.28 this week, breaking a three-week losing streak. The gauge has lost 2.4 percent from a 13-month high on Oct. 20 on concern governments will withdraw stimulus measures.
“Asian economies are set to recover ahead of other regions,” said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Tokyo-based Daiwa SB Investments Ltd, which manages the equivalent of US$38 billion. “That’s the reason why exports and industrial production are improving so quickly. Next year, growth will be led by Asian economies.”
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 2.5 percent this week. Axa Asia-Pacific Holdings Ltd surged 34 percent after rejecting a hostile bid. The Hang Seng Index climbed 3.3 percent in Hong Kong, adding to last week’s 0.4 percent advance. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average dipped 0.2 percent.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index has climbed 68 percent from a more than five-year low on March 9, outpacing gains by the S&P 500 and Europe’s Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index. Dividend yields on the Asian gauge, based on payouts in the past 12 months, dropped to 2.3 percent on Wednesday, the lowest level in at least a year.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to encounter pressure next week as investors take profits from gains made in recent sessions, dealers said.
Investors are afraid that Wall Street will suffer further losses as it has showed signs of “rally fatigue” after failing to react to positive economic and corporate news, they said.
With a lackluster Wall Street, foreign institutional investors may cut their holdings in local shares, in turn also scaring away their retail counterparts, they added.
For the week to Friday, the weighted index rose 202.58 points or 2.71 percent to 7,665.63 after a 1.68 percent increase a week earlier.
Other markets on Friday:
SHANGHAI: Up 0.46 percent from Thursday. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was up 14.70 points at 3,187.65.
SEOUL: Flat. The KOSPI lost 0.74 points from Thursday to close at 1,571.99. Concerns mounted about the potential loss of price competitiveness by major exporters as the US dollar remained weak.
SINGAPORE: Flat. The blue-chip Straits Times Index closed 0.99 points higher from Thursday at 2,727.23.
BANGKOK: Up 0.23 percent from Thursday. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index rose 1.61 points to close at 698.33 points.
KUALA LUMPUR: Flat. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 0.79 points from Thursday to close at 1,270.96.
MANILA: Down 1.29 percent from Thursday. The composite index fell 39.60 points to 3,034.32. Mining companies that had risen during the week felt the brunt of the fall on Friday.
MUMBAI: Up 0.92 percent from Thursday. The 30-share SENSEX index rose 152.8 points to 16,848.83.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
RSS