Thursday 10 November, 10:00 AM GMT (Thomson Financial): Asian markets
ended higher, though not by much. Japan's market was hardly changed as
investors waited for Friday's GDP release, while Hong Kong's market gained on
the day. Meanwhile, the Korean bourse ended higher on program buying and
relief that interest rates were left steady, while Taiwan's market rose as
investors sought out bargains. Finally, the market in Australia closed
slightly higher.
Tokyo's Nikkei-225 Index crept up 8.68 points or 0.06% to 14080.88, while
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Stock Index crawled up by 35.78 points or 0.25% to
14633.33. Korea's Kospi Index rose by 6.84 points or 0.56% to 1234.43, while
Taiwan's Weighted Index inched up by 17.31 points or 0.29% to 5988.37.
Australia's All Ordinaries Index edged up by 16.00 points or 0.36% to 4492.30.
Japan's market closed little changed as investors shrugged off poor
machine orders data and chose to wait for the release of third quarter GDP
data on Friday before taking aggressive positions. Core machinery orders were
worse-than-expected in September, down 10.0% on the previous month, although
rising year-on-year. Stock specific news boosted some companies, however the
marine transport and shipbuilding sectors both came under selling pressure.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone surged after lifting its forecast for
revenue and net profit for the year to March, supported by its mobile
telephone operations, though telecom rival KDDI ended lower, while in the
semiconductor sector, Tokyo Electron made strong gains after it reported that
its net profit grew more than 18 times from a year ago, with Advantest also
ending higher.
In the marine transport sector, Kawasaki Kisen reported a record first
half net profit of 34.88 billion yen, though it suffered heavy selling after
it cut its full year forecast, with Mitsui OSK and Nippon Yusen also
suffering. Shipbuilders sank, led by Mitsui Engineering, which fell heavily,
with Kawasaki Heavy Industry and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ending in
negative territory.
Hong Kong's market closed marginally higher in mixed trading as investors
considered interest rate rises and remained concerned about bird flu. In the
property sector, Sun Hung Kai Properties and Wharf Holdings both rose, though
Henderson Land fell following news that it will buy the shares it does not own
in Henderson Investment. Banking stocks were mixed, with HSBC Holdings and
Hang Seng Bank rising but BOC Hong Kong ending lower.
In Korea, the key share index ended higher on some late program buying and
relief that the Bank of Korea is maintaining its accommodating monetary
policy. The benchmark call rate target for November was kept unchanged at
3.50% as expected but it was positive comments from the governor on the
economic outlook that boosted the market. Samsung Electronics gained weight,
with Hynix Semiconductor strengthening, while in the automobiles sector,
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors were both driven upwards.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's market closed slightly up, with technology stocks in
particular focus following the release of corporate sales data. TSMC rose
after releasing sales figures for October that were up 4.0% on the previous
month and 14.2% year-on-year, while UMC tracked the overnight gains in its
American Depositary Receipts. Elsewhere, Hon Hai Precision Industry fell
following the announcement that it had acquired a stake in CyberTAN.
Finally, the market in Australia closed modestly higher as caution crept
into the market owing to statements by companies either reporting results or
at annual shareholder meetings. The banking sector was mixed with Westpac and
ANZ gaining, however National Australia Bank slipped on broker downgrades
following its annual results on Wednesday. In the resources sector, BHP
Billiton closed higher, though Rio Tinto eased, while James Hardie fell
heavily on a cautious outlook for its building products if interest rates
rise.
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
back to top
