Asian stocks advanced this week for the first time in three weeks, led by technology companies and commodity producers on optimism the global economic recovery is strengthening.
Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技) surged 23 percent in Taipei as prices for dynamic-random-access-memory chips climbed to a one-month high. Canon Inc, the world’s biggest camera maker, gained 5.6 percent in Tokyo after keeping its dividend unchanged and winning approval for a takeover. BHP Billiton Ltd, the world’s largest mining company and Australia’s top oil producer, gained 4.6 percent in Sydney as prices for crude and metals increased after reports showed US consumer spending and incomes climbed.
“The recent data indicate the global economy is recovering faster than originally expected,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about US$1.6 billion at Platypus Asset Management in Sydney. “It’s too early to say whether the recovery is self-sustaining, but we should know toward the end of first quarter 2010.”
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose 1.7 percent to 119.56 this holiday-shortened week. Technology and materials stocks had the steepest gains among the index’s 10 industry groups.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 3.5 percent this week, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.6 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index in China gained 0.9 percent. Japan’s markets were closed on Wednesday for a holiday, and most other bourses were shut on Friday for Christmas.
The MSCI gauge has climbed 34 percent this year, set for its biggest annual gain since 2003, on signs government spending and lower interest rates are bolstering economies.
Stocks in the benchmark trade at 23 times estimated earnings, compared with 18 times for the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index in the US and 16 times for the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index in Europe.
Inotera Memories surged 23 percent to NT$25.30 in Taipei, the highest since May last year. Elpida Memory Inc, Japan’s biggest maker of memory chips, climbed 12 percent. Tokyo Electron Ltd, the world’s second-biggest maker of equipment to manufacture semiconductors, advanced 9.3 percent to ¥5,880.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to keep their upward momentum amid high liquidity next week, the last in a boom year for the nation’s share market, dealers said on Friday.
Institutional investors are likely to short-cover electronic firms after the sector’s recent consolidation, triggered by a pick-up in the global demand for high-tech products, they said.
For the week to Friday, the weighted index rose 218.96 points or 2.82 percent to 7,972.59 after a 0.53 percent fall a week earlier.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source