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| Currency dealers work in the trading room of the Korea Exchange Bank headquarters in Seoul yesterday. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 28.05 points, or 1.56%, to close at 1,822.96. Seoul stocks closed higher as signs of recovery in the US housing market prompted investors to snap up shares following a sharp fall in the previous sessions |
Asian markets were lifted yesterday by a strong lead from Wall Street after upbeat earnings reports and Ben Bernanke’s comments that the US Federal Reserve could step in to help the economy.
Tokyo rose 0.79%, or 68.81 points, to 8,795.55, Seoul gained 1.56%, or 28.05 points, to 1,822.96, and Sydney climbed 2.02%, or 83.1 points, to 4,206.7.
Hong Kong was up 1.66%, or 319.17 points, at 19,559.05, and Shanghai closed up 0.73%, or 15.74 points, at 2,184.84.
In other markets: Singapore closed up 0.39%, or 11.75 points, at 3,028.96. Fraser and Neave sank 4.52% to Sg$7.60 while DBS Group gained 1.46% to Sg$14.55.
Taipei closed 1.41%, or 99.52 points, higher at 7,148.57. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co gained 3.61% to end at Tw$77.5, while Hon Hai Precision was 1.49% higher at Tw$88.3.
Manila fell 0.60%, or 31.18 points, to 5,189.37. Ayala Corp was down 1.10% at 430.20 pesos while SM Investments slipped 0.69% to 720 pesos.
Wellington closed 0.34%, or 11.72 points, higher at 3,485.78. Telecom rose 0.6% to NZ$2.54 and Fisher & Paykel Appliances added 0.9% to NZ$0.57 but Fletcher Building was down 0.17% at NZ$5.84.
Jakarta closed 0.36%, or 14.56 points, higher at 4,096.20. Bank Danamon rose 1.6% to 6,300 rupiah, Bank Mandiri gained 2.7% to 7,600 rupiah and Aneka Tambang added 0.74% to 1,370 rupiah.
Kuala Lumpur closed flat at 1644.60, just 0.40 points lower. Petronas Dagangan gained 0.9% to close at 21.44, while MMC Corp added 0.8% to end at 2.55. YTL Corp shed 2.6% to 1.90 and British American Tobacco (Malaysia) slipped 2.0% to close at 56.72. Bangkok slipped 0.59%, or 7.18 points, to 1,212.96. Banpu dropped 0.86% to 460 baht, while PTT added 0.59% to 342 baht.
Tech firms in Asia benefited from news that Intel, the world’s leading semiconductor maker, had posted better-than-expected earnings for the April-June quarter.
Investor confidence on Wall Street lifted after Internet search giant Yahoo! posted above forecast results and the Bank of America said it had swung back into the black in the second quarter after posting a loss of almost $9bn a year ago.
The Dow climbed 0.81%, the S&P 500 added 0.67% and the Nasdaq advanced 1.12%. Adding to sentiment was the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report, which offered reassurance amid worries about a recent run of disappointing data, saying “overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July”.
Fed chairman Bernanke, testifying for a second day to Congress, reiterated that the economy was slowing and the central bank would act if warranted to boost growth.
He told lawmakers that it was “certainly possible” the central bank could take new steps to support the economy if the jobs market failed to pick up.
His comments followed Tuesday’s testimony in which he warned second quarter growth in the world’s biggest economy could come in lower than the first three months of the year.
Dealers also took heart from June housing starts data, showing a rise of 6.9% from May. The dollar slipped on expectations of a fresh injection of cash by the Federal Reserve into the economy. In early European trade, the greenback bought 78.63 yen compared with 78.78 yen in New York late Wednesday.
The euro fell after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday she was “optimistic” but could not be certain that the European project would work, casting doubts on plans for tighter European integration.
The single currency bought $1.2270 and 96.50 yen, from $1.2280 and 96.75 yen.
Also Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund warned that the eurozone was in “critical” danger and needed to make speedy moves towards a banking union and some form of pooled debt.
On oil markets New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, gained 68 cents to $90.55 a barrel in the late afternoon, while Brent North Sea crude for September delivery was up 84 cents at $106.00.
Gold was at $1,584.20 an ounce at 1100 GMT, from $1,579.18 on Wednesday.