Most Asian markets on Friday rose after the week’s strong gains, with traders upbeat as the chances of former US vice president Joe Biden winning the US election increased and after the US Federal Reserve indicated that it could provide further economic support.
While US President Donald Trump again accused the Democrats of committing voter fraud and his team launched a series of legal actions in various states, hopes a new stimulus package would eventually be passed were supporting sentiment.
Analysts said that Tuesday’s election was good for equities as the expected Democratic sweep of the US Congress failed to materialize, while Biden looked set to take the White House.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The market reaction to the unfolding election news suggests that financial markets would prefer to see a constrained Biden presidency,” said Paul O’Connor, head of Multi Asset at Janus Henderson Investors.
However, “the economic backdrop to this election is one of an incomplete global recovery that remains threatened by the continued spread of COVID-19 in many major economies, as well as fast-fading fiscal support measures,” he added.
A Biden presidency and Republican US Senate would likely mean Democrats would not be able to push ahead with regulatory changes and tax hikes, which observers said were both good for stocks. While lawmakers are also expected to push through a new economic rescue package, it would not likely be as big as anything from a Democratic-led US Congress, which National Australia Bank analysts said would put the onus on the Fed next year.
The US central bank provided some cheer to traders after its policy meeting on Thursday, as it pledged to do all it could to support the world’s top economy.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that more stimulus was “absolutely essential” to support the economy as the outlook was “extraordinarily uncertain,” but that other tools were available to the Fed.
“We can certainly look at new facilities” if the situation deteriorates, he told a news conference.
In Taipei, the TAIEX ended up 54.73 points, or 0.42 percent, at 12,973.53, after moving between 12,927,30, and 12,999.16. Turnover was NT$182.952 billion (US$6.34 billion).
It gained 3.4 percent over the week.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.91 percent or 219.95 points to close at 24,325.23, its highest level since November 1991. Over the week, the index rallied 5.87 percent.
The broader TOPIX closed up 0.52 percent or 8.55 points at 1,658.49, increasing 5.01 percent over the week.
Japanese indices started in negative territory, adjusting recent gains and reacting to a stronger yen against the US dollar.
“But investors later resumed bargain-hunting purchases on the backdrop of easing uncertainties over the US presidential election,” Okasan Online Securities said.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 0.07 percent to close at 25,712.97, rising 6.66 percent from a week earlier.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.24 percent to 3,312.16, but gained 2.72 percent for the week.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.11 percent to 2,416.5, increasing 6.59 percent from a week earlier, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.82 percent to 6,190.2 and rose 4.43 percent for the week.
Additional reporting by AFP and CNA, with staff writer
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks