Stock markets in Asian region finished Friday 5 March 2010, on fabulous note, after USjobless claims fell and the yen weakened on speculation the Bank of Japan will expand itsmonetary easing measures. The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore,Taiwan, Indonesia, China and Japan, rose by 0.25% - 2.20%.
The markets started the day on positive note taking the overnight positive close on WallStreet on the back of some encouraging economic reports prompting investors to pick upstocks from across various sector.
On Wall Street, stocks finished solidly higher after a mix of data and before Friday’sFebruary nonfarm payrolls report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 47 pointshigher, or 0.5%, to 10,444. The S&P 500 added 4 points, or 0.4%, to 1123, and theNasdaq went ahead by 12 points, or 0.5%, to 2292.
On the economic front, initial weekly jobless claims also came in mostly as expected theday before the February nonfarm payrolls report is released, according to the LaborDepartment. The department reported claims fell 29,000 to 469,000, from 498,000 theprevious week. The Labor Department also said productivity grew 6.9% in the fourthquarter, which was upwardly revised from the 6.2% growth it reported originally. Unitlabor costs fell by 5.9%, compared with projections for a decline of 4.5%.
Earlier in the day, pending home sales for January came in weaker than anticipated,dropping 7.6% and dashing market expectations for a 1% up tick. January factory ordersrose 1.7%, according to the Census Bureau, compared with economists' expectations for anincrease of 1.8%. The bureau also upwardly revised December's growth to 1.5%, from 1%previously.
In the commodity market, crude oil rose in New York, poised for the third weekly gain infour, on optimism fuel demand will increase amid improved prospects for an economicrecovery in the U.S., the world’s biggest energy consumer.
Crude oil for April delivery rose as much as 60 cents, or 0.8%, to $80.81 a barrel, inelectronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was at $80.61 at 3:19p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, it fell 66 cents to settle at $80.21.
Brent crude oil for April delivery rose as much as 64 cents, or 0.8%, to $79.18 a barrelon the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract was at $78.90 at 3:19 p.m.Singapore time. It fell 0.9% to $78.54 yesterday.
Gold, little changed in London today, may extend a weekly advance as European sovereigndebt concerns increase demand for the metal and as the dollar’s rally stalls. Goldfor immediate delivery added $3.15, or 0.3%, to $1,135.35 an ounce at 9:24 a.m. localtime. The metal is up 1.6% this week. Bullion for April delivery was 0.2% higher at$1,135.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex unit.
In the currency market, the US dollar gained on the yen in Asian trading Friday after areport suggested the Bank of Japan might consider further easing steps, which weighed onthe Japanese currency.
The Japanese yen tad lower against major US dollar on Friday on hopes the Bank of Japanwould ease policy further. The Japan’s currency yen was quoted at 89.30 against thegreenback.
The Hong Kong dollar was trading at HK$ 7.7632 against the dollar. Actually the Hong Kongdollar is pegged at HK$ 7.8 to the U.S. dollar but can trade between HK$ 7.75 and HK$7.85to the U.S. dollar.
In Sydney trades, the Australian dollar closed slightly lower after a quiet day of tradeas investors awaited key US employment data to give them a fresh lead. At local close, theAustralian dollar was trading at $US0.9002/10, down a touch from yesterday's close of$US0.9015/18.
In Wellington trades, the New Zealand dollar rose slightly today on short-covering aheadof US non-farm payrolls data and continued to trade near a decade low against theAustralian dollar. The NZ dollar was US68.76c at 5pm, up from US68.60c at 8am but downfrom the US68.99c at 5pm yesterday. It traded as low as US68.54c during the domesticsession.
The South Korean won closed at 1,140.10 won to the greenback, up 4.50 won fromThursday’s close of 1,144.60, as easing Greek woes stoked investor appetite for riskyassets.
The Taiwan dollar weakened against the greenback. The Taiwan dollar was trading loweragainst the US dollar at NT$ 32.0200, 0.0320 down from Thursday’s close of NT$31.9880.
In equities, Asian share markets were higher Friday, with stocks in Tokyo powering higheron hopes the Bank of Japan would ease policy further. Sentiment was lifted by WallStreet's gains Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average moving into positiveterritory for the year to date. But investors were cautious, unwilling to addsignificantly to their portfolios ahead of the key U.S. non-farm payrolls data later.
In Japan, the key indices shot up with investors buoyed by some promising US economicdata, weaker yen, and news report that the Bank of Japan was considering further monetaryeasing steps. Bargain hunting was apparent across the sectors, with export related sharesled the climb on softening domestic currency and after better-than-expected U.S. monthlyretail sales, meanwhile banks and financials and real estate shares sparkled after theNikkei newspaper said the Bank of Japan might further loosen monetary policy.
At the closing bell, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average index was at 10,368.96, spurted 223.24points, or 2.2%. The broader Topix of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchangehas gained 13.17 points, or 1.47%, to 9110.81. The Nikkei index finished the week 2.4% or242.93 points higher.
On the economic front, Japan’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of February fell$1.99 billion from a month earlier to $1,051.08 billion, down for the first time in twomonths, largely due to a fall in the value of its holdings of euro-denominated assets, theFinance Ministry said Friday.
In Mainland China, the key indices finished the session slightly higher in a wake ofbargain hunting after the biggest daily fall in five weeks Thursday and as Premier WenJiabao pledges to keep yuan stable and said China would stick to an appropriately easymonetary stance and a proactive fiscal policy. The Shanghai index fell 0.7% this week, butstill remains 7.4% higher on year to date.
At the closing bell, the Shanghai Composite Index, measuring A shares and B shares on theShanghai Stock Exchange, added 7.69 points, or 0.25%, to 3,031.06. The Shenzhen ComponentIndex on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange put on 28.85 points, or 0.23%, to 12,341.74.The CSI 300 Index, measuring exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, has gained 0.28%, to3,259.76.
In Hong Kong, the key indices finished the session higher as investors took cues from thegains in Wall Street overnight and gains across regional bourses, which in turn led to thebuying of key heavy weight stocks. Hefty gains in index-linked counters pulled thebenchmark indices higher.
At the closing bell, the Hang Seng Index grew 212.19 points, or 1.03%, to 20,787.97,meanwhile the Hang Seng China Enterprise, which tracks the overall performance of 43Mainland Chinese state-owned enterprises on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, jumped 152.31points, or 1.29%, to 11,927.37.
On the economic front, Hong Kong's retail sales rose 6.6% year on year to HK$29.3 billionin January, according to statistics released by the Census and Statistics Departmentyesterday. After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volumeof total retail sales increased by 3.2% in January 2010 when compared with a year earlier.
In Australia, the share notched up a sixth consecutive session of gains, helped by strongperformance from all major players in the wake of positive offshore lead and gins in otherregional market. The market finished 0.4% higher on the back of consistent gains acrossthe sectors, with healthcare performed the strongest. Materials and resources were alsoranked in index gains, followed by financials.
At the closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was at 4,767.20, rose 16.70points, or 0.35%. The broader All Ordinaries was at 4,773.40, added 15.80 points, or0.33%.
In New Zealand, equities ended the last trading day of the week almost flat on Friday. TheNew Zealand share market eased lower early, after yesterday closing at a five-week high inits seventh straight day of gains with the benchmark NZX-50 index down 1.82 points to3211.74, having gained 15 points yesterday. Towards the end of the day, however, the NZX50managed to edge up into the green region in line with most of the Asian markets that werein the positive terrain following a rise on the Wall Street overnight. At the closingtoday, the NZX 50 inched up 0.03% or 1.09 points to 3214.64. However, the NZX 15 remainedin the negative terrain, down 0.05% or 2.88 points to close at 5747.77.
In South Korea, stocks finished higher as eased Greek debt concerns and hopes for furthermonetary expansion in Japan buoyed investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite StockPrice Index (KOSPI) advanced 16.37 points to end at 1,634.57.
In Singapore, stock market finished the session higher. The rise followed a similar gainfrom Wall Street overnight and gains in the other Asian bourses, as investors werecautiously optimistic about the US government's February jobs after better than expectedretail sales data. At the closing bell, the blue chip Straits Times Index was at 2,790.29,put on 21.59 points or 0.78%. The benchmark index registered weekly gains of 1.43% or39.43 points.
In Taiwan, stock market finished at five week high tracking gains on Wall Street, withTSMC leading technology shares higher on lower-than-expected production losses after astrong earthquake. Financial stocks also gained ground on media reports that China couldink a free trade pact with Taiwan sooner than investors had anticipated. The benchmarkTaiex share index returned to gains by finishing the week at five week’s high, endingthe day higher by 96.46 points or 1.27% at 7666.26, the highest closing since 28 January2010.
In Philippines, despite its late opening, Philippines stock market closed higher, asinvestors took cues from the gains in Wall Street overnight, which in turn led to thebuying of key heavy weight stocks. At the final bell, the benchmark index PSEi escalated1.19% or 35.91 points to 3,040.92, while the All Shares index went up 0.56% or 10.76points to 1,907.62.
In India, the key benchmark indices eked out marginal gains in what was a volatile tradingsession. The BSE 30-share Sensex was up 8.07 points or 0.05%, off 117.94 points from theday's high and up 43.65 points from the day's low. The barometer index provisionallysettled below the psychological 17,000 mark after alternatively moving above and belowthat level in intraday trade. The BSE 30-share Sensex was up 22.79 points or 0.13% to16,994.49. The S&P CNX Nifty was up 8.45 points or 0.17% to 5088.70.
Elsewhere, Malaysia’s Kula Lumpur Composite index finished was little changed at1299.78 while stock markets in Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite index gained by 13.13points ending the day lower at 2578.77.
In other regional market, European shares advanced on Friday, helped by gains in thebanking sector ahead of a key report on the U.S. jobs picture. On the regional level inEurope, the U.K. FTSE 100 index moved up 0.3% to 5,541.80, the German DAX index rose 0.3%to 5,810.13 and the French CAC-40 index advanced 0.3% to 5,840.53.
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