Pedestrians in reflection walk past a share prices board in Tokyo. Japanese stocks closed up 0.79% at 15,291.64 points yesterday.

AFP/Tokyo

Asian markets were mixed yesterday following strong gains on Wall Street, with Tokyo enjoying a significant bump due to the dollar’s rise against the yen.

Tokyo closed up 0.79%, or 152.68 points, at 15,291.64, Sydney rose 29.07 points, or 0.54%, to end at 5,412.2, while Seoul fell 0.31%, or 5.96 points, to finish at 1,925.69. 

Shanghai ended flat slipping 0.14 points to 2,302.28, while Hong Kong was down 0.13% in afternoon trade, after China Construction Bank reported its worst quarter in more than five years and China’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed mainland house prices fell again in September.

In Tokyo, stocks climbed as the dollar—trading at its strongest levels in two weeks—rose into the ¥108 range, with risk sentiment lifted by encouraging Chinese manufacturing data and solid readings for eurozone business activity on Thursday.

In other markets, Manila closed down 0.18% or 12.58 points to 7,103.55; Casino operator Bloombery Resorts was top-traded up 2.18% to 15.02 pesos, while Robinsons Retail rose 3.7% to 64.40 pesos.

Taipei fell 85.06 points, or 0.97%, to 8,646.01; TSMC fell 1.57% to Tw$125.5 while Acer was 1.23% lower at Tw$20.15.

Wellington rose 0.77%, or 41points, to 5,333.83; market heavyweight Fletcher Building was up 0.24% at NZ$8.53 and Spark gained 2.30% to NZ$3.11.

Jakarta ended down 0.60%, or 30.45 points, at 5,073.07; car maker Astra International fell 1.49% to 6,600 rupiah, while Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper rose 2.73% to 1,130 rupiah.

Singapore fell 0.43%, or 13.95 points, to close at 3,222.55; DBS Bank ended 0.22% lower at Sg$18.28 and vehicle distributor Jardine Cycle and Carriage dropped 1.44% to Sg$39.79.

Bangkok gained 0.47%, or 7.19 points, to 1,539.91; Airports of Thailand surged 3.06% to 236baht, while electricity firm Glow Energy rose 2.31% to 99.50 baht.

Kuala Lumpur rose 0.45%, or 8.18 points, to 1,818.86; Petronas Gas added 3.2% to 22.20 ringgit, while Telekom Malaysia fell 1.0% to 6.88 ringgit.

A weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and inflates profits when repatriated.

“The weaker yen should naturally benefit Japan stocks, and help to highlight the fact that shares are looking cheap from many perspectives,” said Mutsumi Kagawa, senior global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.

Despite Tokyo’s rise, investors will be keeping a close eye on the situation in New York where officials on Friday confirmed the city’s first known case of the Ebola virus.

A doctor who recently returned to New York from treating Ebola patients in Guinea tested positive on Thursday for the deadly virus.

In the US, stocks bolted higher Thursday following a series of mostly strong earnings reports from Dow members Caterpillar, 3M and others. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 1.32% while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.23%.

“The industrials are leading the market much higher,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.

“The economic news was somewhat mixed. But we did have very good earnings.”

The greenback bought ¥108 in Tokyo afternoon trade, slipping from ¥108.27 in New York but still well above ¥107.24 in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

 

 

 

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