Bargain hunters continue pushing up markets May 27
Asian stocks climbed higher yesterday as bargain hunters moved in after recent losses, but fears lingered that the European debt crisis and weak euro could derail the global recovery.
Dealers were given a lift by data showing Japanese exports soared more than 40 percent in April, while eurozone fiscal concerns shifted from Greece to Spain.
TOKYO reversed earlier losses to end 1.23 percent higher, closing at 9,639.72.
SYDNEY ended 1.67 percent up at 4,379.2.
SHANGHAI added 1.15 percent to 2,655.92.
Investors extended gains from Wednesday’s small rally although the eurozone’s struggle to control members’ crippling debts continued to weigh heavily on sentiment, with many fearing a knock-on effect around the world.
The troubles, which began with Greece, have dealt a blow to the euro, hammering confidence and hurting global exporters dependent on Europe for their sales.
HONG KONG: Shares rose 1.22 percent, extending gains from the previous session as dealers picked up bargains following heavy recent losses.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended 234.92 points higher at 19,431.37. Turnover was HK$68.97 billion.
Analysts said a rebound in China had underpinned the recovery in Hong Kong over the past couple of sessions, but volatility remained and the gains could quickly be lost if European uncertainties increased.
SINGAPORE: Shares rose 1.62 percent to 2,739.70 at the close. Twenty-five stocks gained while four stocks declined on the 30-member gauge.
Banking group DBS climbed 26 cents to S$13.78, Singapore Telecom added 5 cents to S$2.87 and Singapore Airlines was 6 cents higher at S$14.20.
GP Batteries International Ltd jumped 6.5 percent to S$1.80.
KUALA LAMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia closed higher yesterday on bargain-hunting as investors continued snapping up attractive stocks which were beaten down in the recent sell-off, dealers said.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) rose as high as 20.48 points yesterday, supported by persistent buying in key blue-chips.
At the close, the benchmark index gained 20.22 points or 1.62 percent to 1,269.16, after opening 4.40 points lower at 1,244.54.
In other markets:
SEOUL closed 1.60 percent, or 25.38 points, higher at 1,607.50.
Dealers moved in to pick up cheap stocks after a heavy loss on Tuesday caused by rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.
TAIPEI rose 1.06 percent, or 75.81 points, to 7,243.16.
UMC rose 0.72 percent to NT$14.1 Taiwan, while Hon Hai fell 0.39 percent to 128.5, after news of another worker falling to his death in its Foxconn factory in southern China – the 11th such death this year.
JAKARTA rose 0.64 percent, or 17.14 points, to 2,713.92.
Car distributor Astra International gained 3.6 percent to 41,500 rupiah, while Bank Rakyat Indonesia jumped 3.1 percent to 8,350 rupiah.
MANILA gained 1.00 percent, or 31.39 points, to 3,156.53.
Dealers were given a boost by data showing the economy grew 7.3 percent year-on-year in the first three months of 2010, the best performance since the June quarter of 2007.
BANGKOK rose 1.14 percent, or 8.34 points, to close at 737.28.
Coal producer Banpu fell 8.00 baht to 574.00 but PTT Plc gained 5.00 to 242.00 baht.
VIETNAM: The VN Index gained 4.47 points or 0.91 percent to end at 497.16 points with the total matching order trade of over 37.3 million shares for over 1.2 trillion dong.
The HNX Index also gained 0.35 points or 0.22 percent to 159.83 points with the total market trade of over 31.2 million shares valued at 978.1 billion dong.
EUROPE: European shares closed above the 1,000 mark yesterday for the first time in just over a week as investor confidence was lifted after China denied a report it would review its euro zone bond holdings.
Banks, which have been heavily hit by concerns about Europe’s debt crisis, extended gains from the previous session to feature among the top risers. HSBC, Barclays and BNP Paribas rose 2.6 to 4.5 percent.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 2.9 percent at 1,000.46 points its highest close in over a week, although it has fallen 10 percent since mid-April when fears over the euro zone debt crisis escalated.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up 3.1 percent, Germany’s DAX rose 3.1 percent and France’s CAC 40 gained 3.4 percent.
AMERICA: Stocks had another turnaround Thursday and rocketed higher after China reassured investors it doesn’t plan to sell the European debt it holds.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 284.54, or 2.9 percent, to 10,258.99. It was the biggest gain for the Dow since it soared 405 points on May 10 after the European Union announced a bailout for debt-strapped countries.
The climb vaulted the Dow back above 10,000. It closed below that psychological benchmark on Wednesday for the first time since February.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 35.11, or 3.3 percent, to 1,103.06. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 81.80, or 3.7 percent, to 2,277.68, putting it back in the black for 2010.
Major stock indexes have also erased their losses for the week.
At the New York Stock Exchange, 2,885 shares rose while only 220 fell. Volume came to 1.4 billion shares compared with 1.9 billion Wednesday.
Bond prices tumbled, pushing interest rates higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.35 percent from 3.19 percent late Wednesday.
Benchmark Currency Rates
USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD HKD
HKD 7.7861 9.6034 0.0856 11.3324 6.7462 7.4117 6.5972
AUD 1.1802 1.4557 0.013 1.7178 1.0226 1.1235 0.1516
CAD 1.0505 1.2957 0.0116 1.529 0.9102 0.8901 0.1349
CHF 1.1541 1.4235 0.0127 1.6798 1.0986 0.9779 0.1482
GBP 0.6871 0.8474 0.0076 0.5953 0.654 0.5822 0.0882
JPY 90.95 112.178 132.374 78.8033 86.577 77.0619 11.6811
EUR 0.8108 0.0089 1.18 0.7025 0.7718 0.687 0.1041
USD 1.2334 0.011 1.4555 0.8664 0.9519 0.8473 0.1284
Bloomberg
Tags: Asia finance, Asia financial, Asia stock market
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