Most Asian stock markets rebounded on Friday, wrapping up a turbulent week characterized by growing anxiety over a slowdown in the US economy and fallout from the credit crisis there.
Those fears would likely weigh on sentiment into next week, analysts said.
But with no bad news overnight from the US due to the holiday there on Thursday, investors bid up stocks in Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.
PHOTO: AFP
"The market was free of bad news from the US, thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday," said Anothai Chiengtawan, an analyst with IV Global Securities in Bangkok.
In Taiwan and South Korea, however, shares fell, and Tokyo was closed for a holiday.
Hong Kong shares rebounded from two days of steep losses, lifted by property developers and oil companies.
The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 2.1 percent, or 536.17 points, to 26,541.09. The index had plunged 6.5 percent the previous two days.
"The market went up today just because of a technical rebound," said Kingston Lin, associate director of Prudential Brokerage, who predicted the index would fall to 25,400 next week.
"I don't think the upside is sustainable as a possible slowdown in US economic growth will cool investor sentiment in the short term," he said.
Domestic worries also weighed on the market.
"There is no catalyst now, after the suspension of the `through-train' scheme," said Peter Lai, a director at DBS Vickers.
He was referring to a plan announced by China in August that would allow mainland Chinese to invest directly in Hong Kong stocks. Beijing appears to have put the plan on hold.
Bucking the generally bearish outlook, tycoon Lee Shau-kee, chairman of property developer Henderson Land, was reported on Friday as saying he expects the benchmark index to rebound to 30,000 points by the end of this year.
He said he has set aside HK$10 billion (US$1.2 billion) to buy stocks.
The Hang Seng property subindex rose 3.1 percent on bargain-hunting and hopes for another US interest rate cut next month, traders said.
Hong Kong banks usually follow suit when the US Federal Reserve cuts lending rates.
Sino Land jumped 6.2 percent to HK$24, Sun Hung Kai Properties rose 2.4 percent to HK$140.50 and Henderson Land gained 1.9 percent to HK$59.80.
Offshore oil producer CNOOC was the biggest gainer among China oil companies.
It rose 4.4 percent to HK$13.30 on news of two oil discoveries in the South China Sea. Sinopec advanced 2.8 percent to HK$10.32, while Petrochina ended up 1.1 percent at HK$14.28.
On the Chinese mainland, airline and other shares surged on gains in the Chinese yuan, even as broader worries over the global economy capped the advance.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 1 percent, or 47.96 points, to 5,032.13, recovering from a 4.4 percent fall on Thursday that took the index to its lowest close since Aug. 22.
Airline companies rose after the official rate for the US dollar against the yuan was set at a record low level of 7.3992.
Airlines can benefit from a stronger yuan because they often carry large amounts of foreign currency-denominated debt.
Air China gained 7.3 percent to 20.66 yuan; China Southern Airlines surged by the daily 10 percent limit to 23.44 yuan.
China Eastern Airlines ended 6.6 percent higher at 13.91 yuan.
Although China's markets remain relatively isolated, investors are reacting to wider gloom over the US economic outlook due to the fallout from so-called subprime mortgages, analysts said.
"Uncertainty over the impact of the US subprime problems will likely affect Chinese bourses, dragging the benchmark index toward 4,800," said Li Wenhui, an analyst at Huatai Securities.
In currency trading, the US dollar dropped below ¥108 to ¥107.55.
This was its lowest rate since June 2005, but it managed to regain some ground to finish the day at ¥107.82.
The euro capped a string of recent records to climb to a high of US$1.4968 before slipping back to US$1.4918.
TAIPEI
Taiwan's benchmark stock index fell to a 14-week low, pulled lower by declines in the shares of food companies and panel makers.
The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange dropped 1.9 percent to 8,342.2, its lowest close since Aug. 17.
BANGKOK
Thailand's main stock index rose 1.9 percent to 824.3 on a rebound in blue chip stocks.
JAKARTA
Indonesia's benchmark rose 0.6 percent to 2,584.3 on bargain hunting.
KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 0.7 percent to 1,353.6 in thin volume.
MANILA
Philippine shares climbed marginally in trade marred by a technical glitch that kept confused investors on the sidelines.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 0.5 percent to end at 3,494.4.
SEOUL
South Korean shares declined for their seventh straight session, with the brokerage sector leading losses.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, dropped 1.5 percent to 1,772.9.
The Kospi has now lost 10 percent from Wednesday last week.
SINGAPORE
Singapore shares rose in volatile trade, likely tracking Hong Kong's rise because of the lack of direction from Wall Street. The Straits Times Index advanced 0.4 percent to 3,325.9.
SYDNEY
Holidays in the US and Japan drained interest in Australia's share market before the weekend.
Falls in BHP Billiton and major banks were offset by gains in Westfield Holdings, QBE Insurance, Woodside Petroleum, CSL and Brambles. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell just 4.1 points to 6,330.2.
WELLINGTON
New Zealand stocks rose in a session thin and lethargic due to the US Thanksgiving holiday. The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 0.4 percent to 4,071.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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