Asian stocks closed sharply higher on Friday with bargain hunters re-emerging after recent falls and a record finish on Wall Street overnight amid falling oil prices.
Tokyo was among the best performers with investors shrugging off the prospect of an interest rate rise next week and pushing the benchmark up 1.30 percent. Taipei gained 1.88 percent and Seoul rose 1.69 percent.
Markets elsewhere followed suit. Bangkok, continuing to recover from new foreign investment rules, was up 1.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur rose 1.20 percent and Manila gained 1.77 percent. Singapore and Sydney each surged 1.33 percent.
PHOTO: AFP
Mumbai stood out on the day, rallying 3.12 percent to a record close on the back of better than expected production figures.
TAIPEI
Share prices closed 1.88 percent higher as an initial rebound powered by Wall Street's record close overnight gained further momentum on government-related funds support.
Dealers said select government-related funds bought into large-cap stocks in an apparent attempt to support the market against any further repercussions or psychological impact of financial troubles at conglomerate Rebar Asia Pacific Group (
The weighted index closed up 143.16 points at 7,761.71 on turnover of NT$126.92 billion (US$3.87 billion).
Legal authorities have launched an investigation into Rebar for any irregularities and have so far detained two executives from the group in relation to the probe.
But analysts said that after government-related funds apparently bought large-cap stocks to assure the markets the impact of Rebar's woes is not too big for the government to handle, the Rebar lead has now been mostly factored in.
Analysts noted large gains in technology stocks, for instance, which initially rose on the back of a rally in their US counterparts, but sustained the gains until the closing session.
TOKYO
Share prices closed up 1.30 percent, rallying after heavy recent losses as investors cheered a weaker yen and another record high on Wall Street overnight.
The NIKKEI-225 index gained 218.84 points to 17,057.01.
"A record-breaking performance on Wall Street and a further weakening of the yen [helped to support] the view that the market's recent pull-back is finally over," SBI Securities market analyst Hideyuki Suzuki said.
Investors are also betting that even if the Bank of Japan raises interest rates by a quarter point to 0.5 percent next week it will not have a particularly negative impact on share prices, dealers said.
HONG KONG
Share prices closed 1.18 percent higher, snapping a four-day losing streak as a record close on Wall Street overnight encouraged rotational buying of some blue-chip laggards and H-shares.
Dealers said China-related financials led the rebound on expectations they will benefit from the mainland's approval for issue of yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong, while the property sector also regained some ground.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 228.04 points at 19,613.41.
Kitty Chan, director at Celestial Asia Securities, said the local bourse "took its cue from overseas markets."
SEOUL
Share prices closed 1.69 percent higher as investors were encouraged by Wall Street's record performance overnight and the positives in Samsung Electronics's results.
Dealers said Samsung Electronics, a favorite for foreign investors, led the way after announcing a large share buy-back along with its results which came in slightly below forecasts.
The KOSPI index jumped 23.06 points at 1,388.37.
SHANGHAI
Share prices closed sharply lower, losing 3.68 percent as heavy profit-taking set in after recent record gains on reports the authorities are delaying approval of new mutual funds.
Dealers said the reports, which appeared earlier this week, suggested the government was becoming concerned at the rapid advance over the past several months and now wanted to keep tabs on the record-breaking markets.
Some analysts say that a rapid rise in mutual fund investment, as individuals seek a better return than that available on bank deposits, has been one of the main drivers of the upturn so would be a likely target for the authorities if they wanted to dampen things down.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A- and B-shares, lost 102.0 points at 2,668.11.
SYDNEY
Share prices closed up 1.33 percent with sentiment boosted by gains on Wall Street and a recovery in base metal prices in London overnight.
The key SP/ASX 200 rose 73.9 points at 5,638.8. A total of 1.45 billion shares changed hands.
SINGAPORE
Share prices closed 1.33 percent higher, with the main index moving back above the key 3,000 points level.
Dealers said the index was supported by Wall Street's strong rally.
The Straits Times Index was up 39.04 points at 3,009.09 on volume of 2.71 billion shares.
KUALA LUMPUR
Share prices closed 1.20 percent higher on a technical rebound, with sentiment also firming on lower crude oil prices.
Dealers said government confirmation of interest by US carmaker General Motors Corp in acquiring a stake in Malaysia's national auto maker Proton provided additional support.
The composite index gained 13.27 points to 1,119.33 on volume of 1.17 billion shares.
BANGKOK
Share prices rose by 1.27 percent on a technical rebound, and as foreign investors became increasingly sure that new investment rules would not be as stringent as feared.
The composite index jumped 8.08 points to 645.71 points with turnover of 2.9 billion shares.
JAKARTA
Share prices closed 1.51 percent lower for a fifth straight day, driven by a slump in gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN).
The composite index closed down 25.800 points at 1,678.044.
MANILA
Share prices closed 1.77 percent higher as investors hunted for bargains among blue-chips that have fallen to attractive levels in recent trade. The composite index rose 52.17 points to 2,992.33.
WELLINGTON
Share prices closed little changed in light trading as the market retreated into holiday mode.
The NZX-50 gross index rose 2.19 points to 4,051.84 on thin turnover.
MUMBAI
Share prices jumped 3.12 percent to a record close led by November industrial production data which recorded major gains.
The 30-share SENSEX rose 425.82 points to 14,056.53 from its previous record close of 14,014.92 set on Jan. 3.
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