Asia markets rise on Wall Street rally

A businessman walks in front of a share prices board in Tokyo. Japan’s share prices closed up 420.87 points to 14,417.68 yesterday.

AFP/Tokyo

Asian markets mostly rose yesterday following a second straight rally on Wall Street, while Chinese economic growth came in slightly above forecasts in the first three months of the year.

Japan’s Nikkei led regional gains thanks to a weaker yen after the head of the country’s central bank said it was on course to meet its inflation target next year.

Tokyo surged 3.01%, or 420.87 points, to finish at 14,417.68 and Sydney added 0.6%, or 32.1 points, to 5,420.3. Seoul was flat, edging down 0.06 points to 1,992.21.

Hong Kong edged up 0.11%, or 24.75 points, to end at 22,696.01 and Shanghai rose 0.17%, or 3.52 points, to 2,105.12.

In other markets, Jakarta ended up 0.06%, or 2.80 points, at 4,873.01; palm oil firm Wilmar Cahaya Indonesia gained 1.94% to 1,580 rupiah, while cigarette maker Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna slipped 1.01% to 68,900 rupiah.

Kuala Lumpur fell 0.46%, or 8.51 points, to 1,853.88; Astro Malaysia slipped 2.7% to 3.28 ringgit, while Telekom Malaysia shed 1.7% to 5.94.

Singapore rose 0.21%, or 6.88 points, to 3,253.20; DBS Bank was up 0.60% to Sg$16.84 while real estate developer Capitaland gained 0.64% to Sg$3.13.

Taipei rose 0.56%, or 50.07 points, to 8,966.78; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co fell 1.22% to Tw$121.0 and PC maker Acer rose 1.81% to Tw$19.65.

Wellington added 14.26 points or 0.28%, to 5,090.55; Fletcher Building ended up 1.15% at NZ$9.71 and Contact Energy rose 0.55% to NZ$5.50.

Manila closed 0.75% higher, adding 49.52 points to 6,671.18; SM Prime Holdings was up 3.36% at 16pesos, while parent SM Investments advanced 0.97% to 727pesos. Philippine Long Distance Telephone rose 1.45% to 2,800pesos.

Bangkok was closed for a public holiday.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the world’s number two economy expanded 7.4% year-on-year in January-March.

The figure was lower than the 7.7% seen in the final three months of last year and marks the fourth slowdown in the past five quarters, putting China on track for its worst annual performance since 1990.

However, it was slightly up on the 7.3% median forecast in a survey of 13 economists by AFP.

Bureau spokesman Sheng Laiyun said the economy “performed within a proper range, with structural adjustment, economic transformation and upgrading continuing to make progress”.

But he added: “We should keep in mind that the external environment remains complicated and volatile, and the national economy still faces downward pressure.”

There are increasing fears of a slowdown in the Chinese economy, a key driver of regional and global growth, following a string of weak data, including on manufacturing and trade.

That in turn has fuelled speculation that Beijing will announce measures to kick-start growth, such as by lowering the amount of cash that banks must keep in reserve, which would boost lending.

Mark McFarland, global chief economist at Coutts Private Bank, told Dow Jones Newswires that while yesterday’s data was weak, “under the circumstances, it actually isn’t bad”.

He added that markets should forget about stimulus for now as China focuses on reining in credit growth.

On Wall Street, US shares, which plunged last week on fears about tech firms’ valuations, picked up for a second day on Tuesday following some upbeat corporate results.

Yahoo reported stronger than expected profits for the first quarter and chip giant Intel posted a smaller than forecast dip in net profit as the key personal computer segment showed signs of stabilising.

On Wall Street the Dow ended up 0.55%, the S&P 500 jumped 0.68% and the Nasdaq added 0.29%.

In Tokyo the yen saw selling pressure after Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said its 2.0% inflation target was on track.

He also said it was too soon to debate ending a massive stimulus programme introduced last year as part of a drive to kick-start the economy.

The dollar was at 102.19 yen in Tokyo, against 101.94 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon.

The euro fetched $1.3840 and 141.45 yen compared with $1.3813 and 140.80 yen.

Investors are also watching the Ukraine crisis after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukraine was on the verge of civil war as Kiev launched a military operation against pro-Kremlin militants in the separatist east.