Tuesday 25 October, 10:00 AM BST (Thomson Financial): Asian markets ended
mostly higher as positive sentiment from the nomination of a new Chairman of
the U.S. Federal Reserve spread throughout the region. Japan's market ended
sharply higher, on Wall Street rises, while Hong Kong's market was up slightly
on the U.S. gains. Meanwhile, the Korean bourse underperformed the region on
foreign selling, while gains in Taiwan's market were tempered by bird flu
fears. Finally, the market in Australia followed U.S. markets higher.
Tokyo's Nikkei-225 Index surged 174.44 points or 1.33% to 13280.62, while
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Stock Index edged up 22.53 points or 0.16% to 14424.88.
Korea's Kospi Index eased 3.32 points or 0.28% to 1181.28, while Taiwan's
Weighted Index inched up 4.03 points or 0.07% to 5721.31. Australia's All
Ordinaries Index gained 33.50 points or 0.78% to 4350.80.
Japan's market rose strongly in the wake of the rally on Wall Street,
which was inspired by the nomination of Ben Bernanke as the next chairman of
the U.S. Federal Reserve. The nomination for the replacement of Alan
Greenspan, who is set to retire in January, aided sentiment as it removed some
uncertainty from the market. The automobiles sector was in focus, along with
steel makers and technology stocks.
Auto makers benefited form the Bernanke nomination, with Mazda and Suzuki
performing well, while Honda and Toyota also posted strong gains. Meanwhile,
truck maker Hino Motors rose after announcing first half net profits of 13.17
billion yen from 7.67 billion yen the previous year. Steel stocks rallied on a
report that the China Iron and Steel Association had called on its members to
cut production by 5% in the fourth quarter; JFE Holdings and Kobe Steel
powered ahead, while Nippon Steel also performed well.
In the technology sector, Pioneer rebounded from Monday's slump after it
cut its earnings forecast last Friday, with Toshiba also rising and Mitsubishi
Electric ending higher. Elsewhere, Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding rose
after it reduced its first half net loss forecast, citing better-than-expected
sales at a subsidiary.
Hong Kong's market closed marginally higher, following overnight gains on
Wall Street from the Bernanke nomination. Banking stocks gained, with HSBC
Holdings and BOC Hong Kong both higher, along with Bank of East Asia and Hang
Seng Bank, while property stocks were mixed, with Wharf Holdings higher but
Henderson Land, Sun Hung Kai Properties and Cheung Kong Holdings all lower.
In Korea, the key share index ended slightly lower as strong third quarter
GDP data of 4.43% growth year-on-year was offset by foreign investor selling,
owing to concerns of a strong U.S. dollar and possible U.S. interest rate
rises. In the technology sector, Samsung Electronics fell, with Hynix
Semiconductor also ending lower, though LG Philips LCD gained weight, while
elsewhere, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Hyundai Heavy dropped back.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's market closed only marginally higher as the market
failed to hold on to early strong gains triggered by record monthly export
figures and rises on Wall Street, with traders remaining concerned about bird
flu. Technology stock AU Optronics was down slightly, ahead of its third
quarter net profit figures; after the market closed, the company reported a
net profit of 5.82 billion won compared to 4.13 billion won a year earlier.
Meanwhile, TSMC gained, with UMC ending slightly higher, while Chi Mei
Optoelectronics slipped.
Finally, the market in Australia rose, led by rises on Wall Street, which
inspired bargain hunters to return. Resources heavyweights BHP Billiton and
Rio Tinto both made solid gains following rises in their London listings
overnight, while in the banking sector, stocks benefited from positive
sentiment, with Macquarie and Babcock & Brown both surging, however, ANZ
slipped despite record full year net profits of 3.02 billion Australian
dollars after the results lacked upside surprise.
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
reports. For more information about Thomson Financial visit us on-line at
http://www.thomsonfinancial.com.
SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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