Asian stocks rose for a second consecutive week as employment reports in the US and Australia spurred optimism global growth will regain traction.
Canon Inc., which gets more than a quarter of its sales from the Americas, gained 5.6 percent in Tokyo and Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, rose 1.4 percent. National Australia Bank Ltd rallied 2.4 percent in Sydney on speculation it won’t need to raise capital to finance a takeover. SM Prime Holdings Inc, the Philippines’ biggest shopping mall operator, jumped 9.5 percent as export growth boosted optimism in the nation’s economy.
“The question you should ask yourselves is what could go right from here, rather than what could go wrong,” said Paul Xiradis, who manages about US$10 billion as chief executive officer of Ausbil Dexia Ltd in Sydney. “We could see a big swing-around back into some riskier assets, and, given the positioning of the market, it could be quite powerful.”
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.4 percent in the week, the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 percent and South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 1.3 percent.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.4 percent this week as the country’s statistics bureau said employers added 30,900 more workers last month from July.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.4 percent.
A Cabinet Office report on Sept. 10 showed that GDP grew at an annualized 1.5 percent rate in the three months ended June 30, faster than the 0.4 percent reported last month.
“The jobs data put the brakes on pessimism that the global economy is moving into a recession,” said Yoji Takeda, who helps manage about US$1.1 billion at RBC Investment (Asia) Ltd in Hong Kong. “The market’s mood is improving. Some investors are becoming more bullish.”
Taiwan’s TAIEX rose 54.57, or 0.7 percent, to 7,890.11 at the 1:30pm close of Taipei trading on Friday, snapping three days of declines. The benchmark index advanced 0.8 percent this week.
Buying focused largely on large-cap stocks due to their relatively low valuations, dealers said.
“It was a fund-driven upside as many investors found a safe haven to park money,” TLG Asset Management (台壽保投信) analyst Arch Shih (施博元) said.
“Low-priced large cap stocks, especially bellwether electronics, served as a magnet for idle funds,” Shih said.
However, the buying did not mean investors are not still concerned about global demand for high tech products, Shih added.
Other markets on Friday:
Wellington rose 0.3 percent, or 9.23 points, from Thursday to 3,161.00.
Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai were closed for public holidays.
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