Most Asian stock markets rose Monday for a positive start to the week as Friday’s Wall Street advance after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech encouraged buyers.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average added 53.57 points, or 0.6%, to 8,851.35
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index recovered 282.23 points, or 1.4%, to 19,865.10
In Hong Kong, China Merchants Bank fell 0.3% and Citic gave up 2.7%, but ICBC jumped 3.3%, extending last week’s strong gains after posting solid first-half results.
Meanwhile, strong gains for Chinese energy stocks supported the broader market in Hong Kong, after refining giant China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, posted first-half results that beat estimates.
Sinopec shares jumped 6.7%, while fellow energy-sector firms PetroChina Co. and Cnooc Ltd. added 2.9% and 3.5%, respectively.
Shares in most other regional markets also climbed after U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday.
Those gains came after Fed Chairman Bernanke, in a much-anticipated speech, refrained from stating that the central bank would immediately introduce new measures to support the U.S. economy, saying instead that options would be discussed at its next meeting in September.
Chip-equipment stocks were strong on hopes that dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, prices may be approaching a bottom.
Elpida Memory Inc. rose 3.2% in Tokyo, while Hynix Semiconductor Inc. jumped 8.4% and Samsung Electronics Co. climbed 1% in Seoul.
Stock gains in Tokyo were muted even as Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda was elected in presidential elections in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, paving the way for him to become Japan’s next prime minister.
In Seoul, Hyundai Motor Corose 1.3% and Kia Motors Corp. added 1.9%.
Those gains came as their Japanese rivals underperformed the broader market, with Toyota Motor Corp. dropping 1.9% and Honda Motor Co. fell 1.2%.
A Nikkei report Monday flagged the possibility of shortages of passenger-vehicle tires and parts as the firms aim to ramp up production in the October-March half of the current fiscal year.
Tire maker Bridgestone Corp. told car firms that domestic orders would likely exceed output capacity, according to the Nikkei. Bridgestone shares fell 1%.
CHINA
Chinese stocks were sold down, however, as concerns about monetary tightening returned. Reports said the People’s Bank of China has announced new measures that would in effect increase the amount banks must set aside as reserves.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index dropped 48.41 points, or 1.7%, to 2,852.81, following media reports that China has asked banks to include their margin deposits in the reserves required at the central bank. The move will drain liquidity from the financial system
Margin deposits are funds that banks require companies to keep to back bank acceptances, letters of credit and letters of guarantee, the analysts said. The analysts estimate that the Chinese central bank’s reported move will reduce system liquidity by about 900 billion yuan ($141 billion U.S.).
The tightening measure equals about 2.3 times the size of the central bank’s typical half-percentage-point rise in the reserve-requirement ratio, they said.
In Shanghai trading Monday, China Merchants Bank Co. dropped 2.9% and China Citic Bank Corp. lost 3.7%. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. gave up 1.9%.
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi Index gained 50.55 points, or 2.8%, to 1,829.50
Taiwan’s Taiex Index galloped ahead 132.91 points, or 1.8%, to 7,578.01
Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 43.71 points, or 1.6%, to 2,791.89
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index tacked on 10.37 points, or 0.3%, to 3,306
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index grew 63.30 points, or 1.5%, to 4,263.30
