Asian stocks rose for a second week, led by oil companies and steelmakers, as crude climbed to a one-year high, brokerages boosted their investment ratings and economic reports pointed to a recovery.
Nippon Steel Corp, the world’s largest steelmaker, added 6.8 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc raised it to “buy” from “neutral.” PetroChina Co (中石油), the world’s second-biggest company by value, gained 7 percent. Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), China’s largest maker of personal computers, jumped 13 percent in Hong Kong as data showed China’s export decline slowed. JB Hi-Fi Ltd climbed 9.5 percent in Sydney after Australian consumer confidence rose and brokers boosted their share-price estimates.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index advanced 0.7 percent to 119.60 in the past week, its second week of gains. The gauge has climbed 69 percent from a five-year low on March 9 as better-than-estimated economic and earnings reports increase optimism that the global economy is recovering from the worst slowdown since World War II.
“We’ll see some relatively strong earnings being posted by companies in the coming weeks and there are likely to be more forecast upgrades than downgrades,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Asset Management Co, which oversees the equivalent of US$96 billion.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 2.2 percent in the week after the nation’s exports declined at the slowest pace in nine months. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.8 percent as an index of consumer sentiment gained 1.7 percent in October. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 2 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 2.4 percent, even as producer prices fell for a ninth month. Elpida Memory Inc, Japan’s biggest computer-memory chipmaker, rose 9.2 percent after posting its first operating profit in eight quarters.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to move in a narrow range next week as investors remain cautious before further corporate results in the US market are due, dealers said on Friday.
While the local bourse breached the 7,700-point level this week, downside pressure is growing as investors are becoming inclined to pocket profits after a recent strong showing, they said.
For the week to Friday, the weighted index rose 143.14 points, or 1.89 percent, after a 2.16 percent increase a week earlier.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$133.12 billion (US$4.12 billion), compared with NT$138.80 billion a week ago.
Other markets on Friday:
SEOUL: Down 1.12 percent from Thursday. The KOSPI lost 18.63 points to close at 1,640.36. Concerns about waning earnings momentum and a strengthening local currency weighed on the market, dealers said.
SINGAPORE: Down 0.15 percent. The Straits Times Index fell 4.03 points to 2,708.12.
BANGKOK: Up 3.52 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index rose 24.40 points to close at 717.12.
MUMBAI: Up 0.74 percent. The 30-share SENSEX index rose 127.62 points to 17,322.82 to a 17-month high. Stock markets were be open for ceremonial one-hour trading yesterday to mark Divali, the festival of lights.
ESCALATING TENSIONS: The US called for restraint and meaningful dialogue after Beijing threatened Taiwanese independence advocates with the death sentence The US on Monday condemned China’s “escalatory and destabilizing language and actions” toward Taiwan after Beijing last week announced new guidelines to punish supporters of Taiwanese independence. Asked about the guidelines, which included the death sentence for “diehard” independence advocates, US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We strongly condemn the escalatory and destabilizing language and actions from PRC [People’s Republic of China] officials.” “We continue to urge restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo,” he said at the press briefing. The US urges China to “engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan,” Miller said, adding that “threats and legal
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
WATER CONCERNS: The CWA encouraged people to conserve water, as fewer typhoons would bring less rain, and the plum rain season brought in only 60% of average rainfall About two to four typhoons are forecast to come close to Taiwan between now and November, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, as it also forecast that extreme heat would persist throughout the week, only dropping by 1°C after Friday. The number of typhoons is slightly lower than the average of three to five, reflecting a weakening El Nino weather pattern and the possibility of a La Nina pattern approaching, CWA Weather Forecast Center Director Chen Yi-liang (陳怡良) told a news conference in Taipei. While typically fewer typhoons develop under such conditions, their routes would be more likely to pass near
Taiwan and the US should invest in low-cost, long-range drones to be deployed en masse in the event of a Taiwan-China military conflict, a US think tank said in a recent report. In a report titled “Swarms over the Strait: Drone Warfare in a Future Fight to Defend Taiwan,” released on Thursday last week, Washington-based think tank the Center for a New American Security said a diversified fleet of drones could help stave off a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “The United States needs a diverse fleet of aerial drones that includes a mix of higher-end and cheaper systems,” the report said. That mix