Asian stocks mostly edged higher yesterday September 3 as dealers followed a third straight rise on Wall Street, but gains were limited by unease ahead of much-anticipated US jobs data.
Optimism over the US economy was boosted on Thursday after a fresh batch of upbeat figures on housing, benefits and factory orders suggested the outlook was not as bad as expected, backing an upbeat manufacturing index Wednesday.
TOKYO closed up 0.57 percent, adding 51.29 points to 9,114.13.
SYDNEY gained 0.19 percent, or 8.5 points, to end at 4,541.2.
SHANGHAI ended flat, edging down 0.39 points to 2,655.39.
Investors were following a 0.49 percent gain on the Dow after the Labor Department said the number of Americans filling new claims for jobless benefits fell faster than expected last week, extending a two-week decline.
Claims for the week to August 28 fell to 472,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 478,000, beating most economists' expectations of 475,000 new claims.
"It's been a strong week, ahead of US payrolls data and the US long weekend," IG Markets strategist Ben Potter told Dow Jones Newswires in Sydney.
"I think people are too pessimistic and evidence is pointing towards a soft patch in the US recovery, rather than a double dip."
However, caution permeated trade as dealers awaited the release later of US non-farm payroll figures - combining government and private jobs - which are expected to show unemployment rising.
HONG KONG: Shares rose 0.49 percent yesterday in edgy trade as dealers welcomed upbeat economic data out of the US but kept an eye on US jobs figures to be released later in the day.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 102.58 points to 20,971.50. Turnover was HK$72.65 billion.
Property developers rose on the positive US data, with Sino Land gaining 3.2 percent to HK$14.05 and Wharf Holdings rising 2.0 percent to HK$43.15.
SINGAPORE: Stocks closed 0.5 percent firmer, hitting its highest since August 10 on late buying. The index closed 15.90 points higher at 3,002.56.
A regional economist at Singapore-based CIMB-GK Research, said investors were cautious and volume was thin yesterday, a day after poor Singapore PMI data for August, as operators waited for US payroll data.
OCBC rose 0.8 percent and Singapore Telecom gained 0.7 percent.
KUALA LUMPUR: The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Composite Index (FBM KLCI) rebounded for four of the five trading days during the week. It continued to stay above its critical resistance of 1,400 when it closed at 1,435.67 yesterday.
The FBM KLCI gapped up at 1,412.98 on Monday before staging a breach of its overhead resistance of 1,420. It trended between its intra-day low of 1,412.98 to its intra-day high of 1,428.44, closing at 1,422.49 - giving a day-on-day gain of 11.44 points, or 0.81 percent.
Share prices on Bursa Malaysia resumed their continuing rebound on Wednesday. The benchmark index trended between its intra-week low of 1,424.98 to its intra-day high of 1,436.73, closing at 1,431.96 points, giving a day-on-day gain of 9.47 points, or 0.67 percent.
In other markets:
SEOUL closed 0.24 percent, or 4.29 points, higher at 1,780.02.
TAIPEI rose 1.42 percent, or 109.39 points, to 7,830.21.
JAKARTA rose 1.35 percent, or 42.13 points, to 3,164.27.
MANILA rose 1.86 percent, or 68.16 points, at 3,734.70.
WELLINGTON closed up 0.81 percent, or 24.95 points, at 3,107.43.
BANGKOK rose 1.02 percent, or 9.36 points, to close at 929.90.
MUMBAI closed flat, edging 16.88 points lower to 18,221.43.
EUROPE: Shares hit a three-week closing high yesterday and posted their biggest weekly gain in about eight weeks as investors grabbed equities after figures showed that US employment declined far less than expected in August.
However, caution prevailed as an industry report said the US non-manufacturing sector grew in August for an eighth straight month but at a slower pace than July and at a rate that was below expectations.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 0.8 percent firmer at 1,063.70 points - the highest close since early August. The index climbed 3.6 percent during the week, its best weekly performance since early July.
In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed up 1.06 percent at 5,428.15 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 index added 1.12 percent at 3,672.20 points and in Frankfurt the DAX rose 0.83 percent to 6,134.62 points.
AMERICA: The stock market had its first winning week in a month thanks to better news on the economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 128 points Friday, its fourth straight day of gains. The strong start to September marked a turnaround from a dismal performance in August.
A better-than-expected report on employment Friday was the latest piece of improving news on the economy. Stocks also gained earlier this week following signs that manufacturing was gaining in the U.S. and China.
Even after its four-day run, which added 438 points to the Dow, the index is still 6.8 percent below the 2010 high it reached on April 26. Stocks had eased slightly after a report showed that the services sector didn't grow as fast as hoped in August.
The Dow closed up 127.83, or 1.2 percent, at 10,447.93.
Broader indexes also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 14.41, or 1.3 percent, to 1,104.51, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 33.74, or 1.5 percent, to 2,233.75.
About three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume was relatively light at 3.6 billion shares.
Bond prices fell as sentiment on the economy improved, sending interest rates higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 2.71 percent from 2.63 percent late Thursday. Its yield is often used as a gauge to set interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans.
More than a half-million Americans resumed their job searches in August. That drove up the unemployment rate to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent, but it could also be a sign that more people are hopeful about the recovery.
For the week, the Dow is up 2.9 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are both up 3.7 percent. It was the first week of gains in a month for both the Dow and S&P.
Benchmark Currency Rates
USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD HKD
HKD 7.7708 10.021 0.0922 12.008 7.6452 7.4809 7.1225
AUD 1.091 1.407 0.0129 1.6859 1.0734 1.0503 0.1404
CAD 1.0388 1.3396 0.0123 1.6051 1.022 0.9521 0.1337
CHF 1.0164 1.3108 0.0121 1.5706 0.9785 0.9316 0.1308
GBP 0.6471 0.8346 0.0077 0.6367 0.623 0.5932 0.0833
JPY 84.311 108.7275 130.28 82.949 81.166 77.278 10.850
EUR 0.7754 0.0092 1.1982 0.7629 0.7465 0.7107 0.0998
USD 1.2896 0.0119 1.5452 0.9838 0.9627 0.9166 0.1287
Bloomberg
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