Asian stocks rose for a second week, as US economic reports raised confidence in the strength of global recovery, and as investors bet the Federal Reserve will leave the benchmark US interest rate at a record low.
Caltex Australia Ltd surged 8.1 percent in Sydney after Macquarie Group Ltd boosted the oil-refining company’s share forecast. Taiwanese handset maker HTC Corp (宏達電) climbed 3.3 percent in Taipei this week after posting an unexpected profit increase. Canon Inc, the world’s largest camera maker, fell 3.4 percent in Tokyo after Goldman Sachs Group Inc cut its rating, and as the yen strengthened against the US dollar during the end of the week.
“Recent US data has been unequivocally positive, which has been boosting investor risk appetite globally,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps oversee about US$1.7 billion at Platypus Asset Management in Sydney.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index advanced 1.19 percent this week as economic reports from the US showed signs of global recovery.
Taiwan’s TAIEX index climbed 0.8 percent in the past week to 8,092.03.
“The market has rallied as the recovery momentum is building up,” said Khiem Do, Hong Kong-based head of multi-asset strategy at Baring Asset Management (Asia) Ltd, which oversees US$11 billion. “We need to see better-than-expected economic data and earnings to sustain this rally.”
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 3.1 percent this week, its best weekly return in six, while South Korea’s KOSPI index rose 0.1 percent.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.8 percent this week as commodity prices gained on indications the US economic growth will accelerate.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.7 percent this week as the yen reversed some of its recent losses, raising concerns about the earnings outlook for companies dependent on overseas demand. China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.4 percent.
Markets in Australia, New Zealand, China and Taiwan were closed on Monday for holidays. Hong Kong’s markets were closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Caltex jumped 8.1 percent to A$12.22 after Macquarie analysts raised the company’s share-price forecast by 12 percent, citing a “more optimistic outlook for margins.”
Japanese exporters declined as the yen strengthened during the week, raising concern it will reduce companies’ revenue from overseas sales when converted into the local currency. Canon retreated 3.4 percent to ¥4,250 after Goldman Sachs cut its rating to “neutral” from “buy.” Panasonic Corp, the world’s biggest maker of plasma televisions, declined 1.1 percent to ¥1,423.
Komatsu Ltd, the world’s second-largest maker of construction equipment, slumped 3.7 percent to ¥1,910 after the Cabinet Office said on Thursday that machine orders unexpectedly fell 5.4 percent in February from January.
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his board left the benchmark interest rate at 0.1 percent by a unanimous vote, the central bank said in a statement in Tokyo on Wednesday.
WHAT WAS ALL THAT FOR? Jaw Shaw-kong said that Cheng Li-wen had pushed for more drastic cuts and attacked him, just for the outcome to be nearly identical to his bill The legislature yesterday passed a supplementary budget bill to fund the purchase of separate packages of US military equipment, with the combined amount of spending capped at NT$780 billion (US$24.8 billion). The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their legislative majority to pass the bill, which runs until 2033 and has two main funding provisions. One was for NT$300 billion of arms sales already approved by the US for Taiwan on Dec. 17 last year, the other was for NT$480 billion for another arms package expected to be announced by Washington. The bill, which fell short of the NT$1.25
Taiwanese shares yesterday posted a record daily gain of more than 1,700 points to close above 40,000 points for the first time, led by large-cap semiconductor stocks such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) amid optimism about the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The TAIEX ended up 1,778.51 points, or 4.57 percent, at 40,705.14 after moving between 39,228.39 and 40,755.52, while the New Taiwan dollar closed up NT$0.038 at NT$31.610 per US dollar, ending three consecutive sessions of declines. Turnover on the main board totaled NT$1.007 trillion (US$31.9 billion), with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$66.98 billion
A former television news host and six military personnel — active and retired — have been indicted on espionage charges, Kaohsiung prosecutors said yesterday. Lin Chen-you (林宸佑), a former CTi News host and YouTuber, last year allegedly made videos at the direction of a Chinese agent criticizing the Democratic Progressive Party’s recall campaign, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office told a news conference in Kaohsiung. He allegedly received 4,325 tether coins for the videos from an unidentified person surnamed Huang (黃), believed to be an agent of a hostile foreign power, they said. Lin, also known as Ma Te (馬德), has a show named
NON-INTERFERENCE: The US called Taiwan a trusted and capable partner, while an African Union leader urged nations to reflect on respect for sovereign choices Taiwan is a “trusted and capable” partner of the US and Taipei’s global relationships, including with Eswatini, provide significant benefits, the US Department of State said of President William Lai’s (賴清德) trip to the southern African kingdom. Lai arrived in the former Swaziland on Saturday on a surprise visit after a planned trip last month was canceled when Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar denied overflight permission for his aircraft due to Chinese pressure. “Taiwan is a trusted and capable partner of the United States and many others, and its relationships around the world provide significant benefits to the citizens of those countries,
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