Forecast-busting manufacturing data in the US boosted Asian stocks yesterday September 3, with the figures easing concerns over the state of the world's biggest economy.
The news came a day after two surveys in China showed similar results, raising hopes that the global economy is not headed for a slowdown in the second half of the year.
TOKYO surged 1.52 percent, or 135.82 points, to 9,062.84, while Sydney rose 0.82 percent, or 37 points, to 4,532.7.
SHANGHAI rose 1.25 percent, or 32.89 points, to 2,655.78, with auto shares boosting the index on the back of a huge jump in sales last month.
The US Institute of Supply Management on Wednesday said its manufacturing index rose to 56.3 points, from 55.5 percent in July, a much larger jump than the 52.9 percent predicted by economists.
And the HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index hit a three-month high of 51.9 in August from 49.4 in July.
The upbeat data from the world's two biggest economies gave a much needed fillip to traders, whose confidence in the global recovery have been dented by a series of poor data in the past few months.
"As markets flip from risk on to risk off almost on a daily basis the question for today is how sustainable the rally in risk trades will prove to be against the background of so much policy and growth uncertainty," Credit Agricole Investment and Corporate Bank said in a note, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
The Dow, which suffered its worst August in nine years, surged 2.54 percent on the back of the latest data.
HONG KONG: Shares rose 1.19 percent yesterday following a Wall Street rally on the back of strong US manufacturing data.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 245.09 points to 20,868.92. Turnover was HK$66.13 billion.
Ping An, which had been suspended since June 30, jumped 2.7 percent to HK$66.10 after it said it plans to buy a 32 percent stake in Shenzhen Development Bank.
China Mobile rose 0.7 percent to 79.75 on uncertainties about a potential stake sale by Vodafone.
SINGAPORE: The STRAITS Times Index closed up 0.13 percent, or 3.83 points, at 2,986.66.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd, Southeast Asia's biggest lender, rose 0.3 percent to S$14.12. Nomura Holdings Inc upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral".
Keppel Land fell 0.26 percent to S$3.88 while Jardine Cycle and Carriage rose 4.58 percent to S$34.70.
KUALA LUMPUR: SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia continued their technical rebounds yesterday September 3.
Its overall advancing counters outpaced declining counters by 511 to 256.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) rebounded from its intra-day low of 1,431.71 to its intra-day high of 1,441.80 yesterday. It closed at 1,441.07 points, giving a day-on-day gain of 9.11 points, or 0.64 percent.
In other markets:
SEOUL closed 0.63 percent, or 11.04 points, higher at 1,775.73.
TAIPEI rose 0.69 percent, or 52.57 points, to 7,720.82.
MANILA added 2.04 percent, or 73.21 points, to close at 3,666.54.
JAKARTA dropped 0.42 percent, or 13.17 points, to 3,122.14.
WELLINGTON rose 0.17 percent, or 5.38 points, to 3,082.48.
BANGKOK edged up 0.13 percent, or 1.20 points, to close at 920.54.
MUMBAI closed up 0.18 percent, or 32.44 points at 18,238.3.
EUROPE: A one-day rally on European stock markets petered out yesterday as investors took profits, but most exchanges closed with modest gains in response to better-than-expected US housing and jobless claims data.
The London FTSE 100 index added a marginal 0.09 percent to close at 5,371.04 points while in Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.21 percent to 3,631.43 points. The Frankfurt DAX was flat at 6,083.85 points.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.08 percent lower at 1,054.85 points.
The benchmark index, which surged 2.9 percent on Wednesday following strong manufacturing data from the US and China, is still down 2.1 percent from a peak in early August.
The Euro STOXX 50, the euro zone's blue chip index, ended flat at 2,715.19 points.
AMERICA: Stocks rose Thursday, extending their gains from the day before, after reports on housing, manufacturing and jobs all indicated that the economy continues to grow.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50 points, having jumped 254 on Wednesday thanks to strong reports on manufacturing in the U.S. and China. Broader indexes also rose.
With little broad conviction about the health of the economy, investors chose to target specific stocks following monthly retail sales reports and the latest acquisition activity.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50.63, or 0.5 percent, to close at 10,320.10.
Broader indexes also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.81, or 0.9 percent, to 1,090.10, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 23.17, or 1.1 percent, to 2,200.01.
The Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, but remain well above levels that indicate a healthy economy. Claims dipped for the second straight week. They fell slightly below the level economists had forecast, which was somewhat encouraging ahead of Friday's monthly employment report.
Factory orders also climbed, rising 0.1 percent in July. The rise in orders backs up a report Wednesday showing the manufacturing sector continues to expand. Major indexes jumped more than 2 percent Wednesday after a surprising rise in manufacturing activity.
About two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume was very low at 3.8 billion shares.
Bond prices dipped after the economic reports. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.63 percent from 2.58 percent late Wednesday. That yield helps set interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans.
Limited shares jumped $1.46, or 6.0 percent, to $25.73.
Benchmark Currency Rates
USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD HKD
HKD 7.7722 9.9592 0.0921 11.965 7.6664 7.3754 7.0633
AUD 1.1004 1.41 0.013 1.694 1.0854 1.0442 0.1416
CAD 1.0538 1.3503 0.0125 1.6223 1.0395 0.9577 0.1356
CHF 1.0138 1.2991 0.012 1.5607 0.962 0.9213 0.1304
GBP 0.6496 0.8324 0.0077 0.6407 0.6164 0.5903 0.0836
JPY 84.365 108.1045 129.88 83.217 80.058 76.671 10.855
EUR 0.7804 0.0093 1.2014 0.7698 0.7406 0.7092 0.1004
USD 1.2814 0.0119 1.5395 0.9864 0.9489 0.9088 0.1287
Bloomberg
|
