Monday 10 October, 10:00 AM BST (Thomson Financial): Asian markets ended
higher as positive sentiment returned to the market. There were national
holidays in Japan and Taiwan so both local bourses were closed. Hong Kong's
market ended higher on bargain hunting in selected blue chip stocks, while the
Korean market made strong gains on hopes for strong earnings releases.
Finally, the market in Australia gained ground as investors sought bargains
following the falls last week.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Stock Index was up 50.98 points or 0.34% to
14,898.77, while Korea's Kospi Index surged 26.17 points or 2.18% to 1227.18.
Australia's All Ordinaries Index rose 28.00 points or 0.64% to 4427.90.
Hong Kong's market ended marginally higher on bargain hunting in selected
stocks following falls last week and amid thin trade ahead of the public
holiday on Tuesday. Banking stocks were mostly up, with BOC Hong Kong, HSBC
Holdings and Hang Seng Bank all rising, though Bank of East Asia slipped,
while property stocks were mixed as advances from Hang Lung Properties and
Wharf Holdings were offset by falls from Sun Hung Kai Properties and Cheung
Kong Holdings. Elsewhere, China Resource was the star performer of the day
after a leading broker reinitiated coverage with a "buy" call.
Meanwhile, in Korea the market closed sharply higher to stop the three day
losing streak on hopes for strong quarterly results, while the consumer
sentiment index improved for the first time in sixth months. Electronics and
banking stocks performed well, with Samsung Electronics up ahead of its
results announcement on Friday, along with LG Philips LCD, scheduled to
release results Tuesday, while in the financial sector Kookmin Bank, Woori
Financial Holdings and Shinhan Bank were all up. Steel maker POSCO also gained
ahead of its third quarter results and guidance.
Finally, the Australian market rose, recovering from last week's sell-off,
with support for heavyweight resources stocks leading the market higher. I
nvestors sought out bargains, buying BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto which had
suffered heavy falls last week, while oil stocks gained weight, with Woodside
Petroleum, Oil Search and Santos all rising. Elsewhere, blood products group
CSL closed up, following its partner Merck & Co discovering a vaccine aimed at
preventing early stage cervical cancer.
Ian.Littlewood@thomson.com; Thomson Financial
This is Thomson Financial Corporate Services Asia Market Commentary. The
information herein is believed to be true and accurate. If you have any
questions please e-mail James Sang at James.Sang@tfn.com. We take no
responsibility for inaccurate information and reserve the right to update our
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http://www.thomsonfinancial.com.
SOURCE Thomson Financial
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