BackAsian shares mostly up after new Wall St record
Tokyo adds 0.84%, Sydney gains 0.12%, Hong Kong up 0.18%, Seoul slips 0.18% and Shanghai sheds 0.74%
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Hong Kong: Asian markets mostly rose Thursday following another record close on Wall Street as US private jobs growth picked up, but Shanghai gave up early gains despite China unveiling a mini stimulus programme.
Global shares have enjoyed a broad rally this week following upbeat manufacturing data in key economies, while investors are keenly awaiting the release of a US non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
Tokyo added 0.84%, or 125.56 points, to 15,071.88, Sydney gained 0.12%, or 6.6 points, to close at 5,409.9 and Hong Kong was 0.18% higher, jumping 41.14 points to 22,565.08
But Seoul slipped 0.18%, or 3.55 points, to 1,993.70 and Shanghai shed 0.74%, or 15.29 points, to 2,043.70.
Beijing on Wednesday announced a series of spending measures aimed at kick-starting the Chinese economy, a key driver of global growth but one which has shown signs of slowing in recent months.
The plan includes extra spending on railways, improving low-income housing and tax relief for small businesses, which have been struggling along with the economy.
Wednesday’s announcement came after a weak run of Chinese indicators, including on trade, investment and industrial output. The economy grew an annual 7.7% in 2013, the same as in 2012—which was the slowest since 1999, while leaders have set a target of 7.5% for this year.
“It’s very obvious that the leaders feel the need to stabilize growth," Mizuho economist Shen Jianguang told Dow Jones Newswires. “Overall, the 7.5% growth target means that the government still cares a lot about economic growth."
However, the government made no mention of monetary policy, such as a reduction in the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve, or an interest rate cut.
On Wall Street the S&P 500 closed at a second straight record high after payrolls firm ADP said US businesses added 191,000 jobs in March, returning to the level of growth seen in December before severe winter weather struck the country. The February number was also revised up by 39,000 to 178,000 jobs.
Eyes on ECB policy meeting
The S&P 500 rose 0.29%, the Dow added 0.24% and the Nasdaq finished 0.20% higher.
In addition, US factory orders rose 1.6% in February, better than forecasts of a 1.1% increase.
The results raised hopes for a strong March government jobs reports on Friday following three months of slowing caused by the winter storms.
On currency markets the dollar bought 103.91 yen in Tokyo, compared with 103.85 in New York late Wednesday.
The euro was at $1.3763 against $1.3765, while it also fetched 143.01 yen, up from 142.96 yen.
The euro will be in focus over the next few days as the European Central Bank holds a policy meeting Thursday, with investors looking to find out its plans after inflation eased to a four-and-a-half-year low in March.
Oil prices were lower. New York’s West Texas Intermediate for May delivery eased 20 cents to $99.42 a barrel in afternoon trade but Brent North Sea crude for May was down 12 cents at $104.67.
Gold fetched $1,286.75 an ounce at 1046 GMT compared with $1,283.33 late Wednesday.
In other markets:
—Bangkok lost 0.39%, or 5.40 points, to 1,391.22.
Telecoms company Advanced Info Service dropped 2.62% to 223 baht, while Thai Airways fell 2.80% to 13.90 baht.
—Jakarta ended up 0.43%, or 21.12 points, at 4,891.32.
Retailer Hero Supermarket jumped 5.00% to 2,940 rupiah, while palm oil firm Astra Agro Lestari slipped 1.74% to 25,350 rupiah.
—Kuala Lumpur’s gained 0.20%, or 3.63 points, to 1,855.63.
SapuraKencana Petroleum added 1.9% to 4.77 ringgit, while financial firm CIMB Group Holdings rose 0.6% to 7.25.
—Manila ended flat, dipping 0.64 points to 6,587.08.
Ayala Land rose 1.77% to 31.60 pesos and its parent Ayala Corp. fell 0.49% to 610 pesos.
—Singapore climbed 0.85%, or 27.28 points, to 3,220.06.
Vehicle distributor Jardine Cycle and Carriage rose 3.12% to Sg$47.20, while telecommunications company StarHub gained 0.96% to Sg$4.20.
—Taipei fell 0.19%, or 16.91 points, to 8,888.54.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. slipped 1.25% to Tw$118.5 while smartphone maker HTC added 0.33% to Tw$154.0.
—Wellington rose 0.12%, or 6.06 points, to 5,122.37.
Telecom added 3.26% to NZ$2.53 and Fletcher Building gained 0.63% to NZ$9.52.
—Mumbai fell 0.19% or 42.42 points to end at 22,509.07 points.
L&T Finance Holdings Ltd lost 9.71% to ₹ 69.75 per share, while IFCI Ltd fell 8.51% to ₹ 25.25 per share. AFP
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