Asian stocks rose, snapping a four-week loss as commodity producers climbed along with metals and oil, and on speculation the US government will prevent the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
BHP Billiton Ltd and Mitsubishi Corp climbed after oil jumped more than US$5 a barrel on Friday and zinc advanced the most since February.
Mizuho Financial Group Inc led banks higher after the New York Times said the government may take over the two largest buyers of US home loans and guarantee their debt, reducing the risk of further credit-market losses.
“People are comforted to see that some action is being taken,” said Angus Gluskie, who helps oversee the equivalent of US$500 million at White Funds Management in Sydney. “It eliminates one of the risks that they’re concerned about: the risk that we’ll get a breakdown of a big player in the marketplace.”
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose 0.4 percent to 132.89 at 7:51pm Tokyo time, reversing a drop of 0.7 percent. A measure of raw-materials producers had the biggest gain among the 10 industry groups.
The MSCI Asian gauge had slumped 12 percent in the prior four weeks as oil climbed to a record, eroding earnings for manufacturers and deterring consumer spending, and as concerns over credit losses rekindled. The world’s largest banks and securities firms have posted writedowns and credit losses of more than US$400 billion as the US housing market collapsed, sparking turmoil in financial markets.
TAIPEI
Taiwanese share prices are expected to stay rangebound next week ahead of US corporate quarterly results, dealers said on Friday.
While the market staged a technical rebound on Friday, helping the index hold well above the key 7,000-point level, market sentiment remains cautious amid fears of further volatility on Wall Street and rising inflation, they said.
It is possible for the bourse to test 7,000 points again or even fall to 6,900 points next week amid uncertainty, while a technical rebound is likely during the trade with resistance seen at around 7,500 points, dealers said.
For the week to Friday, the weighted index closed up 16.35 points or 0.23 percent at 7,244.76 after a 4.24 percent fall a week earlier. The TAIEX gained 2.39 percent from Thursday.
Despite a 2.39 percent increase in one single session on Friday, it remains to be seen whether the recent slump has been reversed, President Securities Co (統一證券) analyst Steven Huang said.
“Old problems have not been resolved yet,” Huang said, referring to high energy prices and possible turbulence on US markets. “US corporate results are adding new uncertainty to the market.”
TOKYO
Japanese share prices on Friday closed down 0.21 percent from Thursday, slipping for the first day in three on renewed concerns about the fallout from the US credit crunch, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 27.52 points to 13,039.69. The broader TOPIX index of all first-section shares slipped 4.85 points or 0.38 percent to 1,285.91.
HONG KONG
Hong Kong share prices closed up 1.7 percent on Friday, dealers said. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 362.77 points at 22,184.55.
SYDNEY
Australian shares closed 0.9 percent higher, dealers said. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed up 42.5 points at 4,979.9 while the broader All Ordinaries ended 47.3 points higher at 5,067.8.
SHANGHAI
Chinese share prices closed down 0.65 percent, dealers said. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, closed down 18.82 points at 2,856.63.
SEOUL
South Korean share prices closed 2.0 percent higher, dealers said. The KOSPI index closed up 30.08 points at 1,567.51.
SINGAPORE
Singapore share prices closed 0.87 percent higher, dealers said. The blue-chip Straits Times Index finished 25.26 points higher at 2,926.84.
MANILA
Philippine share prices closed 0.5 percent lower, dealers said. The composite index shed 12.63 points to 2,437.99.
MUMBAI
Indian shares closed 3.28 percent lower, dealers said. The benchmark Mumbai 30-share SENSEX index fell 456.39 points to 13,469.85.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS