Asian marts mostly higher on China gains

Asian shares mostly rose yesterday Friday Sep 04 as gains in Shanghai lifted other markets but concerns about a key jobs report out of the United States later weighed on sentiment.

However, early gains were pared as caution set in ahead of a US non-farm payrolls report due later Friday, which is seen as a barometer of the state of the world’s biggest economy.

TOKYO: Down 0.27 per cent. The Nikkei-225 dropped 27.53 points to 10,187.11. “The Japanese market won’t move much unless Wall Street, Shanghai and (the) dollar/yen” exchange rate are all rising, Mizuho Securities market analyst Yukio Takahashi told Dow Jones Newswires. A stronger yen is bad for Japan’s exports.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 2.82 per cent higher yesterday, tracking strong gains on mainland China’s market, dealers said.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index finished 556.94 points up at 20,318.62.
Sino Ocean Land was up 5.6 per cent at HK$8.06 and China Overseas Land was 5.3 per cent higher at HK$16.98 dollars. ICBC rose 4.7 per cent to HK$5.63

SINGAPORE: SHARES closed 0.94 per cent higher yesterday ahead of the release of a widely monitored US jobs report, dealers said.
The blue-chip Straits Times Index rose 24.33 points to 2,622.69.
Singapore Airlines put on 12 cents to S$12.76, Singapore Telecommunications was 11 cents stronger at S$3.27 and Keppel Corp fell 8 cents to S$7.62

SYDNEY: Up 0.13 per cent. The S&P/ASX 200 added 5.9 points to 4,435.5. “Obviously (the) employment data out of the US will be keenly watched, with forecasts calling for job losses of 233,000,” said Ben Potter, a research analyst at IG Markets.

SHANGHAI: Up 0.58 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was up 16.59 points to 2,861.61. The index has been buoyed by securities regulators’ assurances about market stability, but analysts said the outlook remained uncertain with no concrete measures from the authority.

SEOUL: Down 0.29 per cent. The KOSPI lost 4.63 points to close at 1,608.90. “The recent sharp rise in leading technology and auto stocks drove investors to cash in profits,” Park Sung-Hun of Woori Investment and Securities said.

TAIPEI: Up 0.68 per cent. The weighted index rose 48.48 points to 7,153.13. The market opened higher as investors took their cue from Wall Street’s rise and interest in large cap electronic stocks helped the broader market fend off profit-taking, dealers said.

BANGKOK: Up 0.43 per cent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand gained 2.87 points to close at 668.41.

JAKARTA: Flat. The Jakarta Composite Index gained 0.05 point to finish at 2,322.30.

KUALA LAMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia staged follow-through rebounds in tandem with rebounds on Hong Kong and Shanghai markets yesterday. The FBM KLCI closed at 1,178.74 points, giving a day-on-day gain of 5.08 points, or 0.43 per cent.
The FBM KLCI consolidated within range-bound activities before closing at 1,178.74 points yesterday, giving a week-on-week gain of 4.47 points, or 0.38 per cent.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Small Cap Index added 49.22 points, or 0.50 per cent to 9,861.42 level while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia ACE Index eased 13.36 points, or 0.32 per cent to 4,132.17 level.

MANILA: Up 0.99 per cent. The composite index gained 27.68 points to 2,830.99. “It’s a combination of the inflation for August which has been the lowest in about 23 years and the performance of the US market,” said Ron Rodrigo of DBP-Daiwa Securities Inc.

MUMBAI: Up 1.89 per cent. The 30-share Sensex rose 290.79 points to 15,689.12

VIETNAM:
VN Index yesterday slid sharply by 12.32 points or 2.28 percent to end at 528.49 points. The market’s trading volume increased considerably with a total matching order trade of 78.337 million shares worth over 3.2 trillion dong, up 16.2 percent in volume and 12 percent in value.
On the northern bourse, the HNX Index today kept dipping by 2.82 points or 1.66 percent to close at 166.92 marks with a total market trade of more than 39.775 million shares or about 1.393 trillion dong in value.

EUROPE:
LONDON: European stocks, drawing some support from better-than-expected US jobs data, snapped four days of losses yesterday with banking and mining stocks the major gainers.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 1.3 per cent at 962.42 points in a choppy session which touched a high of 964.40 and a low mark of 949.39.

In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed up 1.15 per cent at 4,851.70 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 1.27 per cent to 3,598.76 points and in Frankfurt, the DAX rose 1.57 per cent to 5,384.43 points

AMERICA:
Stocks jumped in light trading Friday after the government reported that the pace of job losses slowed in August to the lowest level in a year.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 97 points to halve its loss for the week after the Labor Department said employers cut fewer workers last month. However, the report also showed that the ranks of the unemployed swelled to 9.7 percent, the highest level since June 1983.

Analysts had been expecting the rate to increase to 9.5 percent after unexpectedly dipping in July. The increase initially spooked the market, but stocks later recovered their losses and moved higher. Many economists expect the rate to top 10 percent by early next year.

Unemployment is widely seen as the economy’s biggest hurdle to recovery, and concerns about it have been weighing on the stock market. As long as job losses remain high, consumers could hold off spending money, which the U.S. economy badly needs to resume growth.

Analysts said that the thin trading volume before the long holiday weekend made it difficult to conclude that a shift in investor sentiment was occurring. Markets will be closed on Monday for Labor Day.

Stock trading has been erratic over the past few weeks as a six-month rally slowed on worries that the market’s rise of more than 50 percent since March has been overdone.

The Dow rose 96.66, or 1 percent, to 9,441.27. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 13.16, or 1.3 percent, to 1,016.40, while the Nasdaq composite index added 35.58, or 1.8 percent, to 2,018.78.

About four stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to a low 4.1 billion shares, compared with 4.7 billion Thursday.

For the week, the Dow lost 103 points, or 1.1 percent. The S&P 500 index lost 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq slipped 0.5 percent.

Still, there were signs that investors were becoming less fearful after a four-day slide in stocks that ended Thursday. The losses included a 186-point plunge on Monday that came on worries about the health of banks and the overall economy.

Demand for the safety of government debt fell, pushing yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.45 percent from 3.35 percent late Thursday.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Volatility Index — known as the market’s “fear index” — fell 6.8 percent to 25.3. It’s down 36.9 percent in 2009 and its historical average is 18-20. It surged to a record 89.5 in October at the height of the financial crisis.

In other trading, the dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices retreated after hitting a six-month high of near $1,000.

Light, sweet crude rose 6 cents to settle at $68.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 8.01, or 1.4 percent, to 570.50.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed the week down 102.93, or 1.1 percent, at 9,441.27. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 12.53, or 1.2 percent, to 1,016.40. The Nasdaq composite index fell 9.99, or 0.5 percent, to 2,018.78.

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of small company stocks, fell 9.36, or 1.6 percent, for the week to 570.50.

The Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index — which measures nearly all U.S.-based companies — ended at 10,451.47, down 128.14, or 1.2 percent

Benchmark Currency Rates
	USD	EUR	JPY	GBP	CHF	CAD	AUD	HKD
HKD	7.7506	11.0806	0.0833	12.7047	7.3076	7.1122	6.593	 
AUD	1.1756	1.6807	0.0126	1.927	1.1084	1.0788	 	0.1517
CAD	1.0898	1.558	0.0117	1.7863	1.0275	 	0.927	0.1406
CHF	1.0606	1.5163	0.0114	1.7386	 	0.9733	0.9022	0.1368
GBP	0.6101	0.8722	0.0066	 	0.5752	0.5598	0.5189	0.0787
JPY	93.01	132.972	 	152.462	87.694	85.3499	79.119	12.0004
EUR	0.6995	 	0.0075	1.1466	0.6595	0.6419	0.595	0.0902
USD	 	1.4296	0.0108	1.6392	0.9428	0.9176	0.8506	0.129
                                                         Bloomberg

 

Category: Stocks