Asia: Up ahead of US Fed meeting

Asian markets rose and the dollar sank against the euro yesterday Wednesday September 12 ahead of a US Fed meeting most economists expect will deliver fresh stimulus to kickstart the economy.
Comments from China’s prime minister hinting at monetary easing also gave a fillip, while traders were confident of a positive verdict in Germany as judges were set to rule on whether Berlin can legally take part in the eurozone’s bailout fund.
At 0800 GMT the judges gave the green light to the rescue fund, when most major markets in Asia had closed.
Tokyo surged 1.73 per cent, or 152.58 points, to 8,959.96 with better-than-expected July economic data helping to lift sentiment, while Seoul jumped 1.56 per cent, or 30.03 points, to 1,950.03.
Sydney was 0.82 per cent higher, adding 35.5 points to 4,361.3 and Shanghai added 0.28 per cent, or 6.00 points, to 2,126.55.

HONG KONG: SHARES jumped 1.10 per cent yesterday on hopes for fresh US stimulus as well as comments from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao hinting at fresh monetary easing by Beijing.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 217.51 points to 20,075.39 on turnover of HK$50.33 billion.
Hong Kong and mainland property developers rallied. Henderson Land rose 3.1 per cent to HK$52.50 while Cheung Kong added two per cent to HK$111.70 and China Overseas Land rose 1.6 per cent to HK$18.96.
China Eastern Airlines surged 4.7 per cent to HK$2.43 but Prada slid 1.9 per cent to HK$58.85 – adding to a 6.3 per cent loss previously.

SINGAPORE: THE FTSE Straits Times Index gained 0.44 per cent to 3,029.66 yesterday. It posted a year-to-date performance gain of 14.48 per cent.
The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index added by 0.79 per cent and the FTSE ST Small Cap Index rose 0.81 per cent.
The index saw 20 counters gain, five close flat and five fall. Performances ranged from gains of 3.38 per cent for Olam to a fall of 1.73 per cent for F&N.
Of the actives, Noble Group added two per cent, Golden Agri rose 0.75 per cent, Wilmar gained 0.33 per cent, while Genting went up 0.73 per cent and DBS rose 0.28.

KUALA LUMPUR: SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia closed mixed yesterday on a technical rebound after coming under selling pressure since last Wednesday, dealers said.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) fell 0.46 point to 1,613.78 from 1,614.24 on Tuesday. The index, which opened 2.2 points lower at 1,618.38, moved between 1,609.01 and 1,616.47.
The market stayed rangebound amid renewed concerns on Greece’s deteriorating financial condition, but buying in blue chips was beginning to pick up, dealers said.
They said investors were also worried that the market could take a plunge if Germany was unable to pass the new bailout fund for debt-ridden eurozone economies.

They said the current selling pressure might continue but any further fall in quality stocks represent a good buying opportunity.

In other markets:
* Taipei rose 1.14 per cent to 7,570.45. Leading smartphone maker HTC surged 6.46 per cent to T$280.0 while Hon Hai Precision added 2.88 per cent to T$93.0.

* Manila closed 0.41 per cent higher, adding 21.05 points to 5,207.10. Philippine Long Distance Telephone rose 0.94 per cent to 2,798 pesos and SM Investments ended 0.14 per cent up at 722 pesos, while Ayala Corp gained 0.48 per cent to 423 pesos.

* Wellington rose 1.20 per cent to 3,789.72. Fletcher Building gained 1.5 per cent to NZ$6.72 and Telecom was flat at NZ$2.51.

VIETNAM: Vietnamese shares ended higher today as blue chips gained ground buoyed market, sentiment was still weak.
The benchmark VN Index gained 1.73 points or 0.45% to 388.35. Volume fell further by 8.8% to 32.62 million shares worth of VND387.4 billion.
Put through trading contributed 2.74 million shares worth of VND41.44 billion.
We saw 1.085 million QCG shares changed hands at floor prices of VND7,100 each.
Today痴 market breadth became almost neutral on the primary bourse where 102 stocks advanced, 103 declined, 67 closed unchanged.
The VN30 added 0.57 point or 0.13%, to 453.96. Among its 30 members 10 gained, 10 lost the ground and 10 unchanged.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX lost 0.1 point or 0.17% to 57.42.Trading volume rose 29.2% to 28.8 million shares worth VND186.7 billion.
HNX30 closed down 0.26 point or 0.24% to 106.43.

EUROPE: European stock markets rose and the euro rallied yesterday after the eurozone cleared a key hurdle towards resolving its debt crisis as Germany’s top court approved a new firewall.
In a landmark ruling, the Constitutional Court overturned a raft of legal challenges aimed at preventing President Joachim Gauck from signing two crucial crisis-fighting tools into law.
Delivering a decision with far-reaching implications for the euro’s future, the Bundesverfassungsgericht said Gauck could sign the European Stability Mechanism and fiscal pact.
In reaction, Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.82 per cent 7,370.25 points in late morning deals, the Paris CAC 40 climbed 0.72 per cent to 3,562.83 points helped by a rise by banking shares, and London’s FTSE 100 index of top shares advanced 0.28 per cent to 5,807.95.
Madrid gained one per cent and Milan advanced by 0.96 per cent.

AMERICA: The stock market edged higher Wednesday after a court cleared the way for Germany to participate in a European rescue fund. Attention shifted to the Federal Reserve, which began a big two-day meeting.
Investors and economists expect the Fed to announce new steps to stimulate economic growth, especially after a Labor Department report showed employers added fewer than 100,000 jobs last month.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.99 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 13,333.35.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose an even 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,436.56.
The Nasdaq composite index increased 9.78 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,114.31.
For the week:
The Dow is up 26.71 points, or 0.2 percent.
The S&P 500 is down 1.36 points, or less than 0.1 percent.
The Nasdaq is down 22.11 points, or 0.7 percent.
For the year:
The Dow is up 1,115.79 points, or 9.1 percent.
The S&P 500 is up 178.96 points, or 14.2 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 509.16 points, or 19.5 percent.

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Category: FinanceAsia