Asian stocks posted the biggest weekly advance in more than a month on signs corporate earnings were improving and as concern eased that European nation’s mounting debt will wreck the global economic recovery.
Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), China’s largest Internet company by market value, jumped 6.2 percent this week as earnings surged. Isuzu Motors Ltd soared 11 percent in Tokyo as it forecast earnings will more than double. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd climbed 4.5 percent as European policymakers unveiled loan packages for debt-laden nations.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose about 1.6 percent to 120.00 this week, the most since the period ended April 4. The index has fallen about 7.1 percent from a 20-month high on April 15, as Europe’s debt crisis and concern China will quell inflation eroded confidence in the global economic recovery.
“The underlying message from the economy and corporate earnings is that we’re on the recovery path,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage US$1.7 billion in Sydney at Platypus Asset Management Ltd. “The disruptions in the European Union over the last few weeks could have interfered with that process of healing. But the decisive action taken means the recovery won’t get cut short.”
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index and South Korea’s KOSPI Index both advanced 2.9 percent this week. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.9 percent in Tokyo.
The Philippines Stock Exchange Index surged 6 percent, the biggest weekly climb in a year, as Benigno Aquino headed for a landslide presidential election victory, easing concern the result would be contested.
“The upward momentum for corporate earnings will continue and that’s where investors will focus,” said Kiyoshi Ishigane, a strategist in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co, which oversees about US$64 billion.
Analysts expect earnings per share at companies in the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index to rise 53 percent in the next 12 months, compared with 26 percent for those in the S&P 500 and 38 percent for those in the STOXX Europe 600 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
On Tuesday, the Shanghai Composite Index entered a so-called bear market after having lost 21 percent from its Nov. 23 high on concern China intensified steps to cool its property market. Chinese consumer prices rose last month at the fastest pace in 18 months, and property prices jumped a record 12.8 percent, China’s statistics bureau said this week.
The TAIEX climbed 1.6 points on Friday to close at 7,772.13. The index rose 2.7 percent this week, the first weekly gain in four.
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the maker of the Eee PC low-cost notebook, declined 5.1 percent to NT$50.50, the lowest since Aug. 6. Shipments of computers to Europe may be cut because a falling euro reduces the NT dollar value of its sales, chief executive officer Jerry Shen (沈振來) said on Thursday.
Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子), Taiwan’s biggest maker of LCDs, fell 0.6 percent to NT$39.60, the lowest since May 7. The company’s board approved a plan to buy back and cancel 732 million preferred shares.
US president-elect Donald Trump said he would “never say” if Washington is committed to defending Taiwan from China, but “I would prefer that they do not do it [ an attack],” adding that he has a “good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). “I never say because I have to negotiate things, right?” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker after saying he would not reveal his incoming administration’s stance on Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. Asked the question again, Trump, in a reference to China, said: “I would prefer that they
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: MOFA demanded Beijing stop its military intimidation and ‘irrational behavior’ that endanger peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region The Presidential Office yesterday called on China to stop all “provocative acts,” saying ongoing Chinese military activity in the nearby waters of Taiwan was a “blatant disruption” of the “status quo” of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Defense officials said they have detected Chinese ships since Monday, both off Taiwan and farther out along the first island chain. They described the formations as two walls designed to demonstrate that the waters belong to China. The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it had detected 53 military aircraft operating around the nation over the past 24 hours, as well
TECHNICAL LEAD: The US needs to boost its missile technology and build a communications network able to withstand hackers, Admiral Samuel Paparo said US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said the US is confident it could defeat China in the Pacific, but that technical advantage is shrinking, the Washington Post reported yesterday. Speaking at the Reagan Defense Forum on Saturday, Paparo said the US needs to maintain its technical lead over China by enhancing missile technology and building a communications network able to withstand hackers, the paper reported. Although the US is able to hit long-distance and difficult targets with its advanced cruise missile system, each launch costs more than US$1 million, he said. By contrast, drones, which are relatively cheap to build and develop, can
‘LAGGING BEHIND’: The NATO secretary-general called on democratic allies to be ‘clear-eyed’ about Beijing’s military buildup, urging them to boost military spending NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte mentioning China’s bullying of Taiwan and its ambition to reshape the global order has significance during a time when authoritarian states are continuously increasing their aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. In a speech at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels on Thursday, Rutte said Beijing is bullying Taiwan and would start to “nibble” at Taiwan if Russia benefits from a post-invasion peace deal with Ukraine. He called on democratic allies to boost defense investments and also urged NATO members to increase defense spending in the face of growing military threats from Russia
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