Asian markets edged higher yesterday Wed Sep 1 as bargain-hunters moved in after the previous day's losses, while better than expected Australian growth data sent Sydney stocks surging.
Traders took a tentative lead from the US, where a lift in consumer confidence was tempered by minutes from a Federal Reserve meeting that underscored the bank's concerns over the state of the nation's economy.
Regional markets were also given a lift by a key gauge in China showing manufacturing in the world's second biggest economy had expanded in July.
TOKYO rose 1.17 per cent, or 102.96 points, to close at 8,927.02 after sinking 3.55 per cent to a 16-month low on Tuesday on the back of the strengthening yen.
SYDNEY jumped 2.08 per cent, or 91.5 points, to 4,495.7 after figures showed the economy rose 1.2 per cent in the June quarter and 3.3 per cent over the course of this year, smashing forecasts.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said growth was up sharply from a revised 0.7 per cent in the March quarter, that was achieved despite a drop-off in government stimulus.
SHANGHAI fell 0.60 per cent, or 15.92 points, to 2,622.88, down from earlier highs on fears over August inflation data, which analysts say could show a rise from July's 3.3 per cent due to higher food costs.
SINGAPORE: The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 1.1 per cent to 2,982.83 at the close yesterday .
Shares on the measure trade at an average 14.4 times estimated earnings, compared with about 17.4 times at the beginning of the year.
Among the most active stocks, DBS Group rose 1.4 per cent to S$14.08, Ezra Holdings fell 5.1 per cent to S$1.68, and Genting Singapore was up 6.5 per cent to S$1.80, its highest close on record.
KUALA LUMPUR Shares rose 0.43 per cent yesterday as traders welcomed better-than-expected manufacturing data out of China.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 87.34 points to 20,623.83. Turnover was HS$ 56.52 billion.
SEOUL closed 1.26 per cent, or 21.94 points, higher at 1,764.69.
TAIPEI rose 0.68 per cent, or 51.97 points, to 7,668.25. TSMC rose 0.34 per cent to 59.1 Taiwan dollars while Formosa Plastics was 0.28 per cent higher at 71.2 Taiwan dollars.
MANILA rose 0.76 per cent, or 27.11 points, to end at 3,593.34. Metro Pacific Investments lifted 0.1 per cent to 3.46 pesos and Bank of the Philippine Islands rose 0.1 per cent to 48.10 while First Gen rose 0.6 per cent to 10.40.
WELLINGTON ended 1.35 per cent, or 41 points, higher at 3,077.10. New Zealand Oil & Gas rose 2.6 per cent to NZ$1.18 and Pike River Coal was 5 per cent higher at 1.05 but Contact Energy fell 0.7 per cent to 5.61 and Telecom was 0.5 per cent off at 2.05.
VIETNAM: The VN Index marked the fifth consecutive point-gaining session with a total increase of 3.67 points or 0.81 percent to 458.75 points. The market liquidity declined in comparison with the previous dramatic increasing session but retained at high level with total matching order trade of 44.58 million shares for 1.148 trillion dong in value. The HNX Index continued surging by 3.26 points or 2.54 percent to end at 131.66 points with total market trade of 45.3 million shares for 1.027 trillion dong.
EUROPE: European shares registered their biggest daily gain in more than three months yesterday, on strong manufacturing data from the US and China, the world's two biggest economies.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares rose 2.9 per cent to close at 1,055.69 points, its biggest one-day percentage rise since May 27. The index lost 1.7 per cent last month, but yesterday's rise took it back into positive territory for 2010.
"The main reason is the data from China, and that was needed, because China is one of the few pockets of strength left," said a strategist at Ruland Research in Frankfurt.
The London FTSE 100 index added 2.70 per cent to close at 5,366.41 points.
In Paris, the CAC 40 jumped 3.81 per cent to 3,623.84 points while in Frankfurt the DAX rose 2.68 per cent to 6,083.90 points.
AMERICA: Stocks are surging after surprisingly strong growth in U.S. and Chinese manufacturing allayed worries about the global economy.
The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index grew to 56.3 in August from 55.5 in July. Economists had been expecting a decline.
The positive report comes after a series of weak indicators on the U.S. economy got investors worried that the domestic recovery was losing steam.
Stocks were already climbing Wednesday after a report out of China showed that manufacturing was also growing in that country.
The Dow Jones industrial average is up 221, or 2.2 percent, at 10,237. The S&P 500 is up 26, or 2.5 percent, at 1,075, while the Nasdaq composite is up 52, or 2.5 percent, at 2,166.
Benchmark Currency Rates
USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD HKD
HKD 7.7754 9.9517 0.0922 12.0064 7.6402 7.3874 7.0551 -
AUD 1.1021 1.4106 0.0131 1.7018 1.0829 1.0471 - 0.1417
CAD 1.0525 1.3471 0.0125 1.6253 1.0342 - 0.955 0.1354
CHF 1.0177 1.3025 0.0121 1.5715 - 0.9669 0.9234 0.1309
GBP 0.6476 0.8289 0.0077 - 0.6363 0.6153 0.5876 0.0833
JPY 84.329 107.932 - 130.217 82.863 80.121 76.516 10.8456
EUR 0.7813 - 0.0093 1.2065 0.7677 0.7423 0.7089 0.1005
USD - 1.2799 0.0119 1.5442 0.9826 0.9501 0.9074 0.1286
Bloomberg
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