Thursday, September 02, 2010
Foreign Market Wrap
Asian stock markets ended higher Thursday, though regional gains were tempered by caution ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls data in the U.S.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Index leaped another 135.82 points, or 1.5%, to 9,062.84
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 245.09 points, or 1.2%, to 20,868.92.
Japanese stocks ended higher for a second session after suffering sharp losses in August, but analysts said investors were still wary of the yen's recent strength.
Canon Inc. gained 1.2% and Sony Corp. added 2.2%, helped by the euro's rebound against the yen Wednesday, although the yen recouped some of its losses in Thursday's currency trading.
Japanese automakers were broadly higher in the upbeat market despite sharp declines in U.S. auto sales in August.
Toyota Motor and Honda Motor recorded declines of more than 25% for the month, but the data were skewed by the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" program last year, which boosted sales of new cars, providing a high comparative base.
Honda Motor gained 1.9% and Nissan Motor added 3%, while Toyota Motor Corp. fell 0.3%.
In Hong Kong, Geely Automobile Holdings rose 4.3% and Dongfeng Motor Group Co. added 2.1%.
In Sydney, materials and financial stocks led the market's broad-based gains in the wake of the overnight advance on Wall Street and Wednesday's strong economic growth figures, although data released Thursday showed a lower-than-expected trade balance for July.
BHP Billiton advanced 1.1% and Rio Tinto rose 1.2%. Among financials, National Australia Bank added 1.1% and Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1.2%.
Australia's seasonally adjusted balance on trade in goods and services narrowed to a surplus of 1.89 billion Australian dollars ($1.7 billion U.S.) in July from a surplus of A$3.44 billion in June, and was lower than analysts' expectations of an A$3.1 billion surplus.
Oil and gas shares rose across the region, with Inpex Corp. rising 3% in Tokyo, Woodside Petroleum gaining 0.8% in Sydney and PetroChina Co. gaining 1.1% in Hong Kong.
In foreign exchange markets, the yen appreciated against major currencies as a weaker-than-expected outcome for Australia's July trade balance prompted investors to buy the safe-haven Japanese unit and sell risk-sensitive currencies like the euro.
The euro was buying 107.74 yen compared with 108.11 yen late in New York trade Wednesday, and $1.2813 U.S. against $1.2800 U.S.. The dollar was buying 84.08 yen against 84.47 yen.
The Japanese unit also gained against the Australian dollar after the data. The Australian dollar was recently fetching 76.28 yen versus 76.98 yen late Wednesday in New York.
CHINA
Financials paced the advance in Shanghai as corporate activity in the banking sector boosted sentiment.
Shanghai's CSI 300 Index regained 37.35 points, or 1.3%, to 2,921.39
Ping An Insurance, China's second-largest life insurer, said Wednesday it plans to increase its stake and acquire majority control in Shenzhen Development Bank for 29.1 billion yuan ($4.3 billion U.S.).
Ping An gained 2.7% in Hong Kong and 4.5% in Shanghai, while Shenzhen Development Bank rose 3.9% in Shenzhen.
Chinese automakers jumped after Xinhua reported China's overall automobile sales in August rose 55.7% from the same month a year earlier to 1.21 million vehicles. SAIC Motor soared 8.9% in Shanghai and FAW Car Co. surged by the day's 10% limit in Shenzhen.
Elsewhere;
Singapore's Straits Times Index inched ahead 3.83 points, or 0.1% to 2,986.66
Korea's Kospi index gained 11.04 points, or 0.6% to 1,775.73
Taiwan's Taiex Index improved 52.57 points, or 0.7%, to 7,720.82
New Zealand's NZX index moved 5.38 points, or 0.2%, higher to 3,082.48
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 37 points, or 0.8%, to 4,532.70
