Wednesday 9 November, 10:00 AM GMT (Thomson Financial): Despite overnight
losses on Wall Street, Asian markets ended the day mostly higher. The Japanese
market edged up amid some caution ahead of the release of key economic data,
while Hong Kong's bourse also gained. The Korean market ended barely higher
amid some caution ahead of a central bank meeting on Thursday, while Taiwan's
market jumped, with technology and financials posting healthy gains. However,
on a weaker note, the Australian market weakened amid some profit taking,
following recent gains.
Tokyo's Nikkei-225 Index edged up by 35.47 points or 0.25% to 14,072.20,
while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Stock Index climbed by 194.35 points or 1.35% to
14,597.55. Korea's Kospi Index crept up by 0.88 points or 0.07% to 1227.59,
while Taiwan's Weighted Index jumped by 121.43 points or 2.08% to 5971.06. On
a weaker note, Australia's All Ordinaries Index fell by 24.90 points or 0.55%
to 4476.30.
The Japanese market came off its early lows and ended slightly higher as
investors picked up technology stocks, although there was some caution ahead
of the release of key machinery orders data on Thursday and economic growth
data on Friday. Technology stocks were in favour, but steel and bank stocks
weakened, giving up some of their recent gains.
Technology shares were mostly higher on the day, with stocks such as
Advantest, and TDK surging ahead, while Hitachi and Kyocera posted healthy
gains. However, on a weaker note, stocks that had risen recently found
themselves out of favour, with steel firms such as Kobe Steel and Nippon Steel
declining. Similarly, banking stocks dropped, even though data showed that
bank lending excluding special factors had risen by 0.9% in October.
Meanwhile, shares in Hong Kong rose strongly, adding to Tuesday's modest
gains. The properties sector was higher, with Cheung Kong Holdings and Hang
Lung Properties among sector players gaining, while elsewhere, Hutchison
Whampoa posted healthy gains after agreeing to expand its container terminal
in Shenzhen, Southern China, while the company is also scheduled to list its
Italian 3G mobile telecom unit by the end of the year. Elsewhere, Esprit
Holdings, which earns most of its revenues in Europe, fell as the euro
weakened.
On a slightly weaker note, the Korean market was barely higher as
investors awaited Thursday's central bank meeting and the expiry of
derivatives contracts. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics weakened, giving up
some of its recent gains, but Kookmin Bank was solidly higher following its
third quarter results. Hynix Semiconductor also gained weight, while steel
group POSCO climbed.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's market jumped, amid some solid gains among technology
stocks. Heavyweight chipmaker UMC climbed after its October parent sales
reached 9.04 billion Taiwan dollars compared to 8.50 billion dollars in
September, while TSMC also ended higher ahead of the release of its October
sales data. Memory chipmakers also rose strongly, with shares in Nanya
Technology and Powerchip Semiconductor surging. The financial sector also
climbed, boosted by news that Taiwan Cooperative Bank would buy Farmers Bank
of China.
Finally, the Australian market underperformed the region, with the share
index ending in negative territory after stocks on Wall Street weakened
overnight. The banking sector was lower, with shares in National Australia
Bank falling even though its full-year net profit rose to 4.132 Australian
dollars from 3.177 billion dollars before. Similarly, resources stocks
dropped, giving up their recent gains, with heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio
Tinto both ending the day lower.
Olivier.Masson@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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