Asian Markets Register Good Gains Ahead of Weekend
The stock markets across the Asian region closed higher after a
bigger-than-expected revision to second quarter U.S. GDP data along
with a drop in crude oil prices overnight lifted investor sentiment. In
Asia, India?s Sensex surged 3.7% and the Japanese Nikkei gained 2.4%.
Shanghai also came out from its previous negative closing.
On
Wall Street, the U.S. stocks turned in solid gains across the board, as
strong economic data boosted investor sentiment. The U.S. GDP increased
a higher-than-expected annualized 3.3% for the second quarter and
jobless claims fell for a third consecutive week. The Dow jumped 1.9%
to finish at 11,715, the Nasdaq gained 1.2% to end at 2,411 and the
broader S&P 500 advanced 1.5% to close at 1,300.
In the Asian
session, crude oil was up $1.10 at $116.69 a barrel by 2:22 a.m. ET
after the contract fell $2.56 to settle at $115.59 a barrel on the New
York Mercantile Exchange.
In the currency market, the U.S
dollar traded at 108.76-108.78 in late Tokyo deals, down from lower
109-yen levels in early trade. In late trades in Tokyo Thursday, the
dollar was quoted at 108.89-108.92.
Against South Korean Won, the
U.S. dollar finished at 1,089.0 won, up from Thursday's close of
1,081.8 won. The South Korean won fell against the dollar after data
showed that the South Korea posted its biggest current account deficit
in six months and on importers' demand for dollar.
The Australian
dollar eased as its U.S. counterpart benefited from surprisingly upbeat
GDP data. The Aussie finished local session at US$0.8622-0.8624, above
an 11-month low of US$0.8493 hit earlier this week, down from
US$0.8679-0.8682 late Thursday.
The New Zealand dollar recovered
ground after the number of consents issued for new houses rose in July
from the previous month. The kiwi ended the session at US$0.7052, up
from US$0.7016 in early trade, but was slightly lower compared to
US$0.7056 late Thursday.
Coming back in equities, the Japanese
market closed sharply higher, ending a two-day losing streak. The
market started off on a firm note after Wall Street rallied overnight
and extended gains to finish near the day's high. The benchmark Nikkei
225 index closed up 2.4% at 13,072.87- its highest close since 18
August 2008, when the index finished at 13,165.05. The broader Topix
index gained 2.9% to finish at 1,254.71.
A moderate rise in
Japan's industrial output and the first rise in housing starts in 13
months also supported sentiment. Industrial production climbed a
seasonally adjusted 0.9% in July to 107.9 from 106.9 in June, the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
Meanwhile, the
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that the Japanese
housing starts increased 19% year-over-year in July, after declining
16.7% in June. Economists were looking for a 15% rise in July.
Construction orders received by big 50 contractors surged 42.3%,
year-on-year, after falling 11.7% in June.
Among other data
released, Japan's core inflation rate surged to an annualized pace of
2.4% in July from 1.9% in the previous month on the back of soaring
energy and raw material costs, while retail sales rose 1.9% in July
from a year earlier as consumers paid more for fuel and food. The
unemployment rate dipped to 4.0% in July from 4.1% in the previous
month.
The Chinese market closed higher, led by property stocks,
on hopes that the government will announce new measures over the
weekend to support the markets. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index
closed up 2.01% at 2,397.37. In Shenzhen, the All Share index gained
2.63% to 659.18.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises tracked Shanghai
stocks surged by 1.45% at 11,664.43 while the benchmark Hang Seng index
closed up 1.38% at 21,261.89.
The Australian stock market closed
higher for the third consecutive session on Friday, led by financials.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 1.4% at 5,135.6 and the
broader All Ordinaries index gained 1.4% to finish at 5,215.5.
On
the economic front, private sector credit in Australia increased a
seasonally adjusted 0.5% in July from June, according to data released
by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Private sector credit rose 11.2% from
a year earlier.
The New Zealand market closed higher, extending
gains for a second day in a row. The benchmark NZX 50 index closed up
0.85% at 3,353.24 and the broader NZX All Capital Index rose 1.00% to
finish at 3,405.97.
New Zealand home-building approvals rose in
July, recovering slightly from a near 22-year low in June. Approvals
rose 4.7% on month to 1,405 on seasonally adjusted terms, the
Statistics New Zealand said. In June, the number of approvals totaled
1,341, the lowest since October 1986. Excluding apartments, approvals
fell 0.1% in July.
The South Korean market finished flat, after
closing lower yesterday. Gains among financials and steel makers offset
losses in Doosan Group. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index
closed at par with 1,474.24 points.
On the economic front,
South Korea's current account deficit widened to US$2.45 billion in
July compared to a $1.82 billion surplus in the previous month, the
Bank of Korea said in a report. During the first seven months of the
year, the country posted a cumulative current account deficit of $7.8
billion, up from a shortfall of $75.5 million a year ago.
Meanwhile,
South Korea's industrial output grew at a faster pace in July due to
robust exports and increased sales of consumer goods. However, the
outlook remained bleak as runaway inflation and financial market woes
weighed on the economy. According to a report by the National
Statistical Office, industrial production expanded 9.1% in July from a
year earlier, accelerating from the 6.8% on-year gain in June.
In
Philippines the money supply for June grew 5.1% from a year earlier,
faster than a 3.7% rise in May, mainly due to an expansion in private
credit. Credit to the private sector expanded 11.8% in June from a year
ago from 8.6% in May while credit to government agencies slowed to 2%
in June from 4.9% in the previous month. Annual domestic liquidity rose
17.4% in 2007, below the central bank's 20% threshold. The Philippines
stock exchange gained 1.22% to 2,688.09.
In Thailand the exports
jumped in July, sustaining the recent strong trend, but oil-inflated
imports pushed the country's trade balance into a big monthly deficit.
The Bank of Thailand said exports in July, buoyed by high rice and
commodity prices, rose 43.9 percent from a year earlier to a record
$16.79 billion, after a 28.5 percent rise in June to $16.15 billion.
Rice exports from Thailand, the world's biggest exporter, jumped 212
percent in dollar terms in July from a year earlier, customs data
showed last week. However, imports soared 53.4 percent in July from a
year earlier to a record $17.55 billion after a 31.5 percent rise to
$15.22 billion in June, swinging the trade account to a $762 million
deficit from a $926 million surplus a month earlier. The current
account showed a $555 million deficit after a $722 million surplus in
June. The Thai Set Index inched forward to 485.25 i.e. up by 0.25%.
In
India, data showing a slower-than-expected GDP growth in Q1 June 2008
and softening of inflation raised hopes for a pause in monetary
tightening by the central bank, triggering a solid rally on the
bourses. The BSE 30-share Sensex jumped 509.53 points. Strong global
cues and healthy rollover of derivatives positions also aided the
rally. The market breadth was strong. Interest rate sensitive were the
flavor of the day.
India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew
7.9% in the June 2008 quarter from a year earlier, easing from the
previous quarter's 8.8% rise as industrial activity slowed due to
monetary tightening. The GDP growth in the first quarter of the current
fiscal year was lower than market expectations of a rise of a little
above 8%.
Annual wholesale price inflation rose 12.40% in 12
months to 16 August 2008, below the previous week's 12.63% but remained
stuck at 13-year highs, data released by the government after trading
hours on Thursday, 28 August 2008 showed. No conclusion can be drawn
from one week's inflation number, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.
The
BSE 30-share Sensex jumped 509.53 points or 3.63% to 14,557.87, as per
provisional closing. The Sensex struck an intra-day high of 14,586.16
in late trade. At the day?s high, the Sensex gained 537.82 points.
Sensex opened 230.68 points higher at 14,279.02, which was also its
day?s low. The S&P CNX Nifty advanced 142.30 or 3.38% to 4,356.30
as per provisional closing
Elsewhere, Taiwan's Taiex gained
0.18% at 7,046.11; Singapore's Strait Times closed up 1.82% at
2,739.95; Malaysia's KLCI closed up 2.8% at 1,100.50; Indonesia's
Jakarta Composite index closed up 0.98% at 2,165.94.
In the other
part of the world, European shares traded in a tight range as investors
paused after pushing shares higher in the previous session, and as oil
continued to rise, although strong earnings from French companies
Carrefour and PPR provided a bit of cheer.
Of national indexes,
the French CAC-40 index outstrips European rivals, up 0.2% to 4,470.85.
The U.K. FTSE 100 index traded flat at 5,603.50 and the German DAX 30
index was also little changed at 6,417.58. At 10.52 GMT all this
national indices continued to gain further. U.K. FTSE 100 index gained
at 0.41% to 5,624.30. The German DAX 30 index was up by 0.04% to
6,423.09, while the French CAC-40 index surged by 0.54% to 4,485.43.
Looking
at the region from economic point of view, the annual rate of
consumer-price inflation in euro zone fell in August as food and energy
prices declined. Eurostat, the European Union's official statistics
agency, Friday said the annual rate of inflation in the euro zone was
3.8%, down from 4.0% in July. It was the first decline in the inflation
rate since March, but it remains well above the European Central Bank's
target of just below 2%.
The euro-zone seasonally adjusted
jobless rates remain stable at 7.3% for the fourth consecutive month in
July. The jobless rate in Germany, the biggest economy in the euro
zone, inched down to 7.3% from 7.4% in June. In France, the second
largest euro-zone economy, the jobless rate also fell to 7.3% in July
from 7.5% the previous month.
In another data release the
consumer confidence in the euro zone improved in August as concerns
about rising prices eased. According to a European Commission survey,
the overall measure of economic sentiment in the euro zone fell to 88.8
from 89.5 in July. The headline measure of industrial confidence fell
to -10 from -8 in July, a larger drop than the decline to -9 that was
forecast by economists. The headline measure of price expectations fell
to 22 from 30 in July, reflecting the fall in oil and food prices since
the end of June.
Going country specific, in Germany, the
wholesale sales in July were up 0.3% in real terms compared with June,
and rose 3.5% year-on-year. According to preliminary figures from the
Federal Statistics Office in June, wholesale sales fell 1.5 % from May
and rose 2.6 %year-on-year.
In Italy, Italian retail sales fell
sharply in June, posting their sharpest drop on the year in more than
three years, as sales fell across the board. Compared with June 2007,
retail sales fell by an unadjusted 3.4%, the steepest decline since
April 2005, following a 0.5% rise in May.
The weekly economic
calendar will close with some of the important releases. From US, we
have personal consumption expenditure price index for the month of
July, which will be followed by data on personal income and spending.
In the later evening we have Chicago purchasing managers index for
August, which will be accompanied by Reuters/Michigan consumer
sentiment index for August. From Canada we have Gross domestic product
numbers of the second quarter. It will be accompanied by industrial
product figures.
Visit our site at – http://investorline.co.in/
Newsromm - http://newsroom.investorline.co.in/
Learning Center- http://learning.investorline.co.in/
Mutual funds - http://mutualfunds.investorline.co.in/
Life Insurance - http://insurance.investorline.co.in/
Investor Journal - http://research.investorline.co.in/
Latest News - http://investorline.co.in/blogger/?q=aggregator/categories/1
News Resources - http://investorline.co.in/blogger/?q=aggregator/sources
Newscatcher- http://catcher.investorline.co.in/
Newsgroups- http://groups.google.com/group/india-investor
0 comments:
Post a Comment