Asian stocks rose for a fourth week as improved Australian consumer confidence and US retail sales, rising investments in China and higher commodity prices added to evidence that the global recession is easing.
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, Australia’s third-largest iron ore producer, added 31 percent through the week on speculation demand for iron ore in China will rise. Rio Tinto Ltd, which gets 19 percent of its sales from China, jumped 6.5 percent. China Construction Bank Corp (中國建設銀行), China’s second-biggest lender, advanced 8.3 percent after the central bank said lending doubled. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd soared 15 percent on its talks to build a power plant Australia.
“There is a general sense that the worst has passed,” said Matt Riordan, who helps manage about US$3.2 billion at Paradice Investment Management in Sydney. “As things recover in the US, people will start buying imported products again, and that also flows through into resources.”
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index gained 1.8 percent to 105.17, its highest since Sept. 26. The gauge has climbed 49 percent from a five-year low on March 9, taking valuations of its companies to the highest in more than eight months, as signs of a recovery have increased in recent weeks.
China’s central bank said new lending doubled to 664.5 billion yuan (US$97 billion) last month from 318.5 billion yuan a year earlier, adding to a credit boom that is supporting the government’s 4 trillion yuan stimulus plan.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to encounter further profit-taking pressure in the week ahead after a roller-coaster ride this week, dealers said on Friday.
Selling in bellwether electronic stocks and financial shares are likely to continue as they have been overvalued following a recent significant showing, they said.
However, commodity stocks, in particular steel and cement makers, may attract interest as investors are happy with rising international commodity prices, they added.
The bourse is expected to test the support at the 6,300-6,400 point range as dealers take to the sidelines on fears of further downside, while technical rebounds are possible, with a cap at around 6,650, dealers said.
For the week to Friday, the weighted index fell 408.51 points, or 5.96 percent, to 6,448.23 after a 0.49 percent fall a week earlier.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$133.25 billion (US$4.07 billion), compared with NT$160.90 billion a week ago.
Other regional markets on Friday:
TOKYO: Up 1.55 percent. The Nikkei-225 rose 1.55 percent or 154.49 points to 10,135.82. “The market is in a state of euphoria” as retail investors turned bullish, Chuo Securities equity head Akira Ishida told Dow Jones Newswires.
SHANGHAI: Down 1.91 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was down 53.56 points at 2,743.76. The market fell on concerns over tightening liquidity after securities regulators said they would lift a freeze on initial public offerings soon, dealers said.
SINGAPORE: Down 0.20 percent. The blue-chip Straits Times Index eased 4.74 points to 2,377.07. Dealers said the market was unaffected by overnight gains in the US.
KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.11 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 1.19 points to 1,090.15.
BANGKOK: Up 0.24 percent. The SET composite index added 1.48 points to close at 628.55.
JAKARTA: Flat. The Jakarta Composite Index added 1.36 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,090.94.
MUMBAI: Down 1.13 percent. The 30-share SENSEX fell 173.53 points to 15,237.94. Investors unwound positions ahead of the weekend, taking profits from a three-month rally in which prices have risen nearly 90 percent, dealers said.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
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