Asian stocks gained for a third week in four, led by Fanuc Ltd and Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd, as economic reports around the region and in the US spurred optimism demand from machinery to motors for toys will rise.
Government reports on the economy and machinery orders pointed to growth in Japan, while better-than-expected Hong Kong retail sales and exports in Taiwan suggested a pick up in spending. Prospects of higher demand from the US, the biggest destination for Asian exports, also lifted stocks.
"Any kind of good news will be welcomed," said Takaaki Haruki, who helps manage the equivalent of US$1.8 billion at HSBC Asset Management (Japan) KK in Tokyo. "Looking at the current environment, there isn't much suggesting that there will be a slowdown" in the US.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index, which tracks more than 900 stocks, added 2.7 percent in the week just ended. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 3.6 percent, while the Topix index advanced 3.1 percent. Both Japanese benchmarks had their biggest weekly rise since March.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks 37 Chinese companies, was the best performer among 60 global benchmarks compiled by Bloomberg data. Shares such as China Telecom Corp led the index 7.2 percent higher, after reports on industrial production and money supply growth eased concerns that interest rates in China will rise anytime soon.
Benchmarks in Hong Kong and Taiwan advanced for a third week in four. Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Composite Index had its biggest weekly jump in almost four months, lifted partly by a government report that said the country's industrial production in April increased at its fastest pace in three months.
China's stock indexes were worst performers in the week just ended among benchmarks worldwide. South Korea's Kospi Index slumped 3.7 percent and Thailand's SET Index slid 2.1 percent.
Both dropped for a second week.
China Telecom, the nation's largest fixed-line phone company, was the best-performer on the MSCI index. Yanzhou Coal Mining Co, China's only coal producer publicly traded overseas, added to the index's advance after the company won a 75 percent rise in coking coal prices from Japanese steelmakers this year.
Takashimaya Co, Japan's biggest department store operator, and Isetan Co, the fourth largest, rose after the government boosted its estimate for first-quarter economic growth to a 6.1 percent annual pace.
An earlier estimate by the Cabinet Office in Tokyo was for 5.6 percent growth and a median forecast in a Bloomberg survey was for a 5.8 percent gain.
Separately, machinery orders jumped 12 percent in April, the biggest gain in six months, suggesting companies plan to increase spending amid rising global demand for digital electronics goods.
"These are great numbers," said Yasumasa Nishimura, a senior fund manager at Dai-Ichi Kangyo Asset Management Co, who manages the equivalent of US$182 million in Japanese equities.
"Machinery companies are still being conservative in their investment plans and we still get these sort of results."
In Hong Kong, retail sales jumped 23 percent in April from the year before, higher than the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Taiwan's exports climbed 40 percent last month from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said, also more than some analysts expected.
Stocks around the region also gained after a report showed the US added 248,000 workers to payrolls last month. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected payrolls would rise by 225,000, based on the median forecast.
The US job report "shows we've entered the stage of the economic recovery with employment," said Jeong Jong Hyeon, who helps manage US$1 billion at CJ Investment Trust Management Co in Seoul. "That's supporting exporters' shares with prospects of stable growth of their sales to the developed markets."
Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co, Japan's largest maker of copper foil, was the third-best performer on the MSCI index in the week just ended.
The company raised its full-year profit forecast by a fifth, citing higher shipment volumes of copper foil. The announcement prompted analysts at Mitsubishi Securities Co and Mizuho Securities Co to lift their ratings for the stock.
Singapore Land Ltd, a landlord in the city's financial district, posted its biggest weekly jump in four years, surging 14 percent. The stock climbed on speculation United Industrial Corp may take the company private after it declared in a stock exchange filing that its indirect holding in Singapore Land had risen to 71 percent, some traders said.
Johnson Electric, which gets more than a 10th of its sales from North America, added 9.7 percent. Shares of the world's second-biggest maker of mini-motors also gained after the company said full-year profit fell less than it expected. Morgan Stanley boosted its 12-month share-price forecast for the stock.
Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc paced the drop in South Korea's Kospi index, on concern prices of liquid crystal display monitors may fall and after government reports showed consumer and manufacturers' confidence dropped.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
RSS