Asian investors go hunting for bargains Dec 2

Asian markets rose for a third straight day yesterday Wednesday Dec 2 as investors picked up bargains after last week’s selloff, with fears waning over Dubai’s debt shock.

Gold prices returned to record-breaking ways, helping regional commodity stocks. Dealers were also given a boost by an overnight 1.23 percent rally on Wall Street.

TOKYO: Up 0.38 percent. The Nikkei-225 gained 36.74 points to 9,608.94.

Upbeat news in the steel and auto sectors offset the strong yen and kept stocks positive.

HONG KONG: Shares closed up 0.80 percent yesterday, extending gains for a third straight day after the index suffered heavy losses last week on the back of Dubai’s debt crisis.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 176.42 points to 22,289.57.

“I think commodity stocks could benefit from continued weakness in the US dollar, but the index is unlikely to rise above 22,500 in the near term,” Ernie Hon, a strategist at ICBC International told Dow Jones Newswires.

SINGAPORE: Shares closed 0.92 percent higher yesterday but further sharp gains in the immediate term were seen limited, dealers said.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index advanced 25.39 points to 2,796.34.

“There’s lots priced in on the recovery and a danger of overpricing, so it may be harder to find stocks that offer value next year,” said an analyst.

SYDNEY: Up 0.92 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 43.4 points to 4,762.4.

An increase in the official cash rate on Tuesday was still flowing onto the market, IG Markets analyst Ben Potter said, with investors seeing it as a vote of confidence in the local economy and trading more boldly.

SHANGHAI: Up 1.06 percent. The composite index rose 34.39 points to 3,269.75.

Dealers were boosted after Premier Wen Jiabao said on Monday China would maintain the intensity of stimulus policies.

SEOUL: Up 1.40 percent. The Kospi ended up 21.91 points at 1,591.63.

“Although we need more time to assess the Dubai issue, investors seem to have regained rationality,” Park Ga-Young of Korea Investment and Securities said.

TAIPEI: Up 0.37 percent. The weighted index rose 28.39 points to 7,677.62.

“Those who bargain hunted last Friday hoped to lock in the profits,” said Mars Hsu of Grand Cathay Securities.

BANGKOK: Down 2.32 percent. The composite index lost 16.50 points to close at 693.51 points, and the blue-chip index dropped 13.54 points to 486.96.

The market plunged after a court upheld the suspension of dozens of industrial projects worth billions of dollars on environmental health concerns.

JAKARTA: Up 0.78 percent. The composite index gained 19.06 points to 2,471.56.

“Rising commodity prices have increased the shares in mining-related sectors,” Ciptadana Securities head of sales John Teja said.

KUALA LAMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia continued to rebound in tandem with the rebounds on the regional stock markets yesterday. Its overall advancing counters outpaced its declining counters by 442 to 218.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) rebounded from its intra-day low of 1,267.88 to its intra-day high of 1,273.30 yesterday. It closed at 1,271.15 points, giving a day-on-day gain of 4.44 points, or 0.35 percent.

MANILA: Up 0.71 percent. The composite index added 22.04 points to 3,119.96, its highest closing since February 2008. The all-share index rose 0.54 percent, to 1,925.78.

“This is just a resumption of the uptrend in the market,” Joseph Roxas of Eagle Equities said.

MUMBAI: Down 0.16 percent. The 30-share Sensex index closed down 28.36 points at 17,169.91.

VIETNAM:
After three consecutive increasing sessions, VN Index and HNX Index on Dec 3 reversed to reduce sharply due to the strong profit-taking pressure. At closing time, VN Index lost the threshold of 500 points but market liquidity improved considerably.
VN Index plunged by 15.78 points or 3.06 percent to close at 499.14 points with a total matching order trade of 51.72 million shares worth 2.014 trillion dong, an increase by 31 percent in volume and 19 percent in value compared to the previous session.
On the northern floor, HNX Index ended its three consecutive point-gaining sessions by reducing 8.67 points or 5.14 percent to 160.02 points. The total market trade was estimated at about 23.64 million shares worth 826.733 billion dong, up 12.29 percent in volume and 14.58 percent in value.

EUROPE:
PARIS: European stocks ended higher yesterday, adding to the previous session’s rally, after data showed US private employers shed fewer jobs last month than in October, lifting sentiment ahead of Friday’s key jobs data.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares unofficially closed 0.4 percent higher at 1,015.23 points. The index, which sharply fell last week on concerns over Dubai’s debt woes, jumped back on Tuesday, gaining 2.6 percent as the worries receded.

In Paris the CAC 40 rose 0.53 percent to 3,795.92 while the Frankfurt Dax was stable, rising just 0.09 percent to 5,781.68.

AMERICA:
The stock market struggled but held its ground Wednesday as an upbeat assessment of the economy from the Federal Reserve offset drops in banks and energy companies.

Most stocks finished higher after the Fed said regional economic activity has generally improved since its last snapshot in October. The central bank said consumers have increased spending even as employment and commercial real estate remain weak.

The Dow fell 18.90, or 0.2 percent, to 10,452.68, pulling off of a 14-month high reached Tuesday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index edged up 0.38, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,109.24, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 9.22, or 0.4 percent, to 2,185.03.

Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 4 billion shares compared with 4.4 billion Tuesday.

The listless trading followed modest gains Monday and a surge Tuesday driven by a weaker dollar and higher commodities prices. A months-long slide in the dollar, the result of rock-bottom interest rates, has encouraged investors to buy riskier assets that have the potential to earn better returns.

Analysts say trading likely will remain choppy through the rest of the year as some investors look to lock in the gains they’ve amassed in the rally since March.

Trading in foreign exchange, commodities and debt markets was mixed as traders remained cautious.

“People don’t know where to go,” Stone said. “That wait-and-see attitude has kicked in.”

The ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures the dollar against other major currencies, edged up 0.3 percent.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.32 percent from 3.29 percent late Tuesday.

Gold surged to a record $1,218.40 an ounce before settling at $1,213.

Oil fell $1.77 to settle at $76.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the Energy Department said demand for gasoline fell during the Thanksgiving week, when gas sales usually rise because of holiday travel.

Among financial stocks, Bank of America fell 24 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $15.65. In after-hours trading the stock rose 39 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $16.04.

Wells Fargo & Co. slid 54 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $27.45 on reports that some analysts voiced concerns about industry profits next year.

Meanwhile, Chesapeake Energy Corp. fell 70 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $23.40 as oil fell. Occidental Petroleum Corp. slid 97 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $81.21.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.89, or 1.2 percent, to 596.09.

Benchmark Currency Rates
	USD	EUR	JPY	GBP	CHF	CAD	AUD	HKD
HKD	7.7501	11.6848	0.0884	12.9165	7.7496	7.3909	7.1936	 
AUD	1.0774	1.6243	0.0123	1.7956	1.0773	1.0274	 	0.139
CAD	1.0486	1.581	0.012	1.7476	1.0485	 	0.9733	0.1353
CHF	1.0001	1.5078	0.0114	1.6667	 	0.9537	0.9283	0.129
GBP	0.6	0.9046	0.0068	 	0.6	0.5722	0.5569	0.0774
JPY	87.7	132.225	 	146.163	87.6939	83.6353	81.4023	11.316
EUR	0.6633	 	0.0076	1.1054	0.6632	0.6325	0.6156	0.0856
USD	 	1.5077	0.0114	1.6666	0.9999	0.9537	0.9282	0.129
                                                              Bloomberg

 

Category: Stocks