Asian stocks rose for the fourth consecutive week, their longest winning streak in four months, as company earnings reports boosted confidence in the strength of the global economy.
Canon Inc, the world’s largest camera maker, jumped 9.3 percent this week in Tokyo after reporting profit that beat analyst estimates. Sony Corp, the maker of Bravia televisions, gained 7.6 percent in Tokyo after raising its annual forecast. HSBC Holdings PLC, Europe’s largest bank, climbed 3.7 percent in Hong Kong after most European banks passed stress tests. Sanyo Electric Co soared 21 percent after getting a takeover bid.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose 1.4 percent this week to 119.11 and climbed 5.6 percent this month, its first monthly increase since April and the biggest gain since March. The index has slumped about 8 percent from its high this year on April 15 on concern China’s measures to limit property-price inflation and Europe’s government-debt would stall global growth.
“People are buying on optimism the global economy is on an uptrend after seeing those positive earnings reports,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Asset Management Co, which oversees about US$104 billion.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.1 percent this week, even as industrial production unexpectedly dropped and unemployment climbed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced 2.6 percent after the central bank said it will keep a “moderately loose” monetary policy.
This week was the peak for April-June earnings reports in the Asia-Pacific region, with more than one-fourth of the 985 companies in the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index releasing results, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. More than half the companies that announced results have exceeded analysts’ estimates, Bloomberg data showed.
Speculation economic growth may falter dragged down the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index by as much as 9.6 percent this year, and the average price of stocks in the gauge dropped this month to the lowest level since December 2008. The index’s companies trade at about 14 times estimated profit.
Taiwan’s TAIEX fell 38.36, or 0.5 percent, to 7,760.63 at the close of Taipei trading at 1:30pm on Friday. The benchmark was little changed for the week and rose 5.9 percent last month, the biggest gain since March.
Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行) gained 2.7 percent to NT$16.90 and Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀) advanced 1.8 percent to NT$9.47.
The two companies rose on speculation the two financial services companies may be first to be merged in a government-driven consolidation of the industry, Deutsche Bank AG analyst Nora Hou said.
In other markets on Friday:
Manila edged 2.76 points lower from Thursday to 3,426.59.
Jakarta lost 0.89 percent, or 27.53 points, from Thursday to end at 3,069.28.
Wellington was flat, adding 1.61 points from Thursday to end at 3,034.62.
Mumbai closed 0.69 percent, or 123.71 points, lower from Thursday at 17,868.29. Sentiment turned weak on lower-than-expected earnings from some Indian firms.
The navy has installed 13 Phalanx Block 1B close-in weapons systems on its warships, increasing their defensive firepower, a defense official said on Saturday. The systems cost the navy NT$10.16 billion (US$314.67 million), while eight additional Block 1A systems are being upgraded in the US and are expected to be delivered next year, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Phalanx system used by Taiwan to defend its warships and key radar installations is a radar-cued gun system capable of firing 4,500 rounds a minute at targets as far away as 1.5km, the official said. With their superior range of
RACE FOR CHIPS: The Dresden site would help Europe reduce its reliance on Asia for semiconductors, while Germany aims to produce one-fifth of the world’s chips by 2030 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday broke ground in Dresden, Germany, on its first European plant as the continent seeks to safeguard its chip supplies amid growing US-China tensions. TSMC chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) attended the event, together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the heads of Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV and Robert Bosch GmbH, which each hold a 10 percent stake in the venture. TSMC owns a 70 percent stake in the plant. “Together with our partners, Bosch, Infineon and NXP, we are building our Dresden facility to meet the
‘CLOSE TIES’: Former Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda also attended the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security and spoke of Taiwan’s importance globally China’s authoritarian expansionism would not stop with Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, calling for solidarity among the world’s democracies to check Beijing’s territorial ambitions. Taiwan is determined to become a decisive force for democracy, peace and prosperity, standing side-by-side with its democratic partners to confront authoritarian expansionism and protect shared values, he told the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security in Taipei. Authoritarianism is now a global challenge, Lai said, using as examples Chinese military expansionism, economic coercion and the use of hybrid warfare tactics such as cyberattacks and cognitive warfare. “We are all fully aware that China’s growing authoritarianism will
RECOVERY: Overall, average income across all age groups increased, climbing to a record NT$709,000 last year, on the back of an improved economy, the DGBAS said Taiwanese workers under the age of 30 last year, on average, earned an annual income of NT$545,931 (US$17,044), a new high, as the economy continued to improve, data released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. That equated to monthly earnings of NT$45,494 per person, and marked an increase from NT$535,667 in 2022, the data showed. In addition to an improved economy, average incomes rose as the unemployment rate declined and the minimum wage rose, the statistics agency said. Overall, average income in Taiwan also hit a new record of NT$709,000 last year, up from NT$704,000 in 2022, the data