Asian markets mostly rise; Nikkei extends gains

AFP

Tokyo

Asian markets were mostly higher yesterday as Tokyo extended a rally after the dollar broke ¥116 for the first time in seven years, while speculation swirls that Japan may put off another unpopular sales tax hike.

Wall Street provided support for buyers again after the Dow and S&P 500 squeezed out another record for a fifth straight session, while investors await the release this week of Chinese indicators and a G20 summit at the weekend.

Tokyo added 0.43%, or 72.94 points, at 17,197.05, Seoul rose 0.22%, or 4.27 points, to close at 1,967.27 and Hong Kong advanced 0.55%, or 129.90 points, to 23,938.18, while Shanghai put on 1.00%, or 24.81 points, to 2,494.48.

However, Sydney gave up 0.98%, or 54.0 points, to close at 5,463.1.

In other markets, Bangkok fell 0.58%, or 9.17 points, to 1,562.03; Bangkok Life Assurance lost 6.64% to 52.75 baht, while Bangchak Petroleum dropped 2.14% to 34.25 baht.

Jakarta closed 0.33% higher, or 16.56 points, at 5,048.84; cement maker Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa gained 1.08% to 23,425 rupiah and cigarette maker Gudang Garam rose 0.04% to 60,275 rupiah.

Singapore closed down 0.26%, or 8.44 points, to 3,283.71; oil rig maker Keppel Corp fell 1.06% to Sg$9.31 while vehicle distributor Jardine Cycle & Carriage declined 0.25% to Sg$40.34.

Kuala Lumpur fell 8.87 points, or 0.49%, to close at 1,816.24; AMMB Holdings went down 2.0% to 6.36 ringgit while Maybank lost 1.43% to 9.65. Tenaga Nasional gained 1.98% to 13.40 ringgit.

Taipei fell 1.28%, or 115.19 points, to 8,918.95; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co lost 1.49% to end at Tw$132.0 while Acer was 1.23% lower at Tw$20.0.

Wellington was flat, edging down 2.90 points to 5,487.88; Fletcher Building closed 1.40% off at NZ$8.45 and Spark eased 0.15% to NZ$3.24.

Manila closed 0.39% higher, adding 28.32 points to 7,232.87; Bloomberry Resorts climbed 2.90% to 13.50 pesos and GT Capital was 1.84% up at 1,052pesos, while Ayala Land advanced 1.73% to 35.35 pesos.

Japanese shares have surged almost 12% since the end of October, helped by the Bank of Japan’s decision to widen its monetary easing, which sent the yen plunging.

They were given fresh momentum yesterday as investors digested speculation that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is mulling a delay to a sales tax hike as the economy struggles to overcome the impact of a rise in April.

The increase seven months ago has been blamed for throwing a tentative economic recovery into reverse and threatens another technical recession.

Major Japanese newspapers reported yesterday that Abe may call a snap election next month if he decides to put off the second tax hike.

His ruling coalition would be likely to win the election, which would be greeted positively by the stock market and trigger fresh yen-selling, analysts said.

In foreign exchange deals, the dollar was at ¥115.38 against ¥115.74 in New York, where it at one point topped ¥116 for the first time since October 2007.

The euro jumped to ¥144.06, compared with ¥144.38 in US trade, while it also bought $1.2485 against $1.2474.

“Speculation about the sales tax deferment is going to cause the currency markets to be volatile for a while, and that could result in more stock market volatility as well,” said Masayuki Doshida, senior market analyst at Rakuten Securities.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended higher, adding 0.01%, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.07%, both posting record closes for five straight sessions. The Nasdaq added 0.19%.

Oil prices slipped. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for December delivery fell 59 cents to $77.35 while Brent crude for December was down 70 cents at $80.97.