Asian stocks climbed for a sixth week, the longest streak of gains in more than two years, on increasing confidence the worst of the global recession is over.
China Cosco Holdings Co, the world’s largest operator of dry-bulk ships, surged 21 percent on rising Chinese exports and shipping rates. PT Bumi Resources, Asia’s largest exporter of power-station coal, jumped 21 percent in Jakarta as elections strengthened the hold Indonesia’s president has over parliament. JFE Holdings Inc, Japan’s No. 2 steelmaker, soared 22 percent on speculation it won’t make large price cuts and as the government unveiled a record stimulus package.
“We’re probably seeing a bottoming out in the economy,” said Arjuna Mahendran, Singapore-based chief investment strategist for Asia at HSBC Private Bank, which oversees US$494 billion in assets. “The second quarter will be good for stocks as corporate earnings should bounce.”
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose 2 percent this week to 89.69, completing the longest stretch of gains since December 2006. Asian markets have rallied 27 percent since the MSCI benchmark dropped to a six-year low on March 9.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.6 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI index dropped 0.5 percent as brokerages cut recommendations on financial companies. Thailand’s SET Index gained 0.6 percent in a week shortened by new year holidays. The Thai government called a state of emergency following clashes between security forces and protesters in Bangkok.
MSCI’s Asian index plunged by a record 43 percent last year as the credit crunch tipped the world’s largest economies into recession, forcing companies to cut jobs amid slumping profits.
The gauge has rallied 27 percent from a five-year low reached on March 9 amid signs government measures to ease the financial crisis are working. Earnings estimates for companies included in the MSCI benchmark started to rise this month after a year of falling predictions, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
China’s exports rose 39 percent last month from a month earlier, the customs bureau said on April 10, when Hong Kong markets were shut for a holiday. The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, jumped 13.8 percent this week. The gauge had slumped as much as 94 percent from a peak in May last year.
China posted a 6.1 percent annualized growth rate for the first quarter, the slowest rate of expansion in nearly a decade. That may mark the bottom for the world’s third-largest economy as a 4 trillion yuan (US$585 billion) stimulus package cushions the effects of the global recession.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to fall further in the week ahead following steep losses on Friday, with the market having failed to push above the key 6,000 point mark this week, dealers said.
Friday’s decline prompted many investors to be wary of stiff technical resistance ahead of 6,000 points, with the market having gained more than 30 percent since the beginning of last month, they said. Analysts said market sentiment toward the bellwether electronic sector is likely to turn cautious as high-tech heavyweights start to release their first quarter results next week.
However, companies with close business ties to China may attract interest, as they are expected to outperform the broader market, they added.
In the week to Friday, the TAIEX fell 26.58 points, or 0.50 percent, to 5,755.38 after a 4.56 percent increase a week earlier. Average daily turnover stood at NT$168.57 billion (US$4.99 billion), compared with NT$144.05 billion a week ago.
Other markets on Friday:
JAKARTA: Up 0.6 percent. The Jakarta Composite index rose 9.7 points to 1,634.79. The index has risen 24.59 percent over the past month.
MANILA: Up 1.42 percent. The composite index rose 29.47 points to 2,094.13. “Expectations of bad financial figures aren’t coming through,” Eagle Equities president Joseph Roxas said.
WELLINGTON: Up 1.81 percent. The NZX-50 gained 48.13 points to 2,711.29. The focus was on leading stocks and signs of fresh money entering the market, dealers said.
MUMBAI: Up 0.69 percent. The 30-share SENSEX rose 75.69 points to 11,023.09. Stocks shed most intraday gains as investors chose to unwind positions ahead of the weekend, dealers said.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said