AFP
Tokyo
Asian markets were mostly higher yesterday following better-than-expected US economic growth data and news that Germany had narrowly averted recession.
The dollar struggled to resume its uptrend against the yen, with analysts forecasting the pairing were close to finding their plateau.
Tokyo dipped 0.14%, or 24.04 points, to 17,383.58 but Sydney rallied 1.15%, or 61.4 points, to 5,396.2 and Seoul was slightly higher, edging up 0.63 points to close at 1,980.84.
Hong Kong added 1.12%, or 268.07 points, to 24,111.98 and Shanghai gained 1.43%, or 36.74 points, to 2,604.34.
In other markets, Taipei was marginally higher, adding 6.15 points to 9,122.39; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was unchanged at Tw$139.0 while Hon Hai Precision Industry closed 0.93% higher at Tw$97.3.
Wellington gained 0.27%, or 14.71 points, to 5,457.39; Spark rose 1.95% to NZ$3.13 and Fletcher Building added 0.37% to NZ$8.20.
Manila ended up 0.96%, or 69.74 points, at 7,356.59; Philippine Long Distance Telephone rose 1.01% to 2,990 pesos and Ayala Corp gained 1.31% to 694 pesos, but Metrobank lost 0.24% to 83.30 pesos.
Singapore closed up 0.14%, or 4.67 points, to 3,349.66; DBS Bank fell 0.40% to Sg$19.75 while real estate developer Capitaland eased 0.30% to Sg$3.32.
Jakarta ended up 0.28%, or 14.09 points, at 5,133.04; Bank Negara Indonesia rose 0.43% to 5,900 rupiah, while state miner Aneka Tambang fell 2.02% to 970 rupiah.
Kuala Lumpur’s main stock index gained 3.61 points, or 0.20%, to close at 1,842.17; Alliance Financial Group gained 0.6% to 4.80 ringgit, while IHH Healthcare rose 0.6% to 4.97. SapuraKencana Petroleum fell 1.0% to 3.23 ringgit.
Bangkok closed down 0.36%, or 5.80 points at 1,591.00; Media operator BEC World soared 5.37% to 54baht, while satellite operating company Thaicom rose 4.05% to 38.50 baht.
The gains came despite a weak lead from Wall Street, where the Dow and S&P 500 retreated slightly from record highs.
The US Commerce Department said third-quarter growth came in at to 3.9%, up from a previous estimate of 3.5% and easily beating expectations for 3.2% expansion.
The figures are the latest showing the world’s number one economy is on a healthy recovery track, while those in the eurozone and Japan struggle.
However, there was some negative news, with the Conference Board saying consumer confidence dipped in November compared with October.
On Wall Street the Dow edged down 0.02% and the S&P 500 retreated 0.12%. However, the Nasdaq added 0.07%.
Also Tuesday, Germany released figures showing the eurozone’s biggest economy expanded 0.1% in July-September thanks to higher household and government spending.
