Asian markets higher on U.S. news

Tokyo closed 1.45 percent higher, Hong Kong up 2.29 percent and Sydney 1.5 percent. The gains brought to an end three days of heavy losses on the markets. Fears that the opening Friday of a new board in China for small- and medium-sized firms could hurt liquidity in the main market were not realized, with Shanghai adding 1.20 percent.

U.S. gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted 3.5 percent annual rate in the July-September period from the second quarter, the strongest in two years.

Japan said its unemployment rate had unexpectedly fallen to 5.3 percent, while the rate of deflation had eased from the previous month and household spending rose. The Bank of Japan later warned that the country faced three years of deflation and said it would keep interest rates at near-zero but begin to withdraw support measures introduced last year to fight the global slump.

TOKYO: Up 1.45 percent. The Nikkei-225 climbed 143.64 points to 10,034.74. Although there are cautious views that U.S. GDP figures are temporarily boosted by government support measures, “the recovery trend itself won't change,” Mizuho Securities analyst Yukio Takahashi told Dow Jones Newswires. With Japan's fiscal year half earnings reporting season hitting full stride, several companies' results made significant share price impressions.

HONG KONG: Up 2.29 percent. The Hang Seng Index rose 487.88 points to 21,752.87.

SYDNEY: Up 1.5 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 ended up 68.5 points at 4,643.2.

SHANGHAI: Up 1.20 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was up 35.38 points to 2,995.85. Trading volumes remained light as some funds were diverted to Shenzhen's new Nasdaq-style ChiNext market in the hope of quick profits.

Trading on ChiNext began Friday with all its 28 companies posting strong gains. However, the bourse's anti-speculation rules meant trading on every firm on the ChiNext had to be suspended at least once due to the spectacular debut.

SEOUL: Down 0.33 percent. The KOSPI lost 5.16 points to 1,580.69. Analysts said the market lost steam after Samsung Electronics reported a record quarterly net profit and industrial production in September showed a larger-than-expected rise.

SINGAPORE: Up 0.71 percent. The Straits Times Index rose 18.82 points to 2,651.13.

BANGKOK: Down 0.70 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand lost 4.86 points to close at 685.24.

KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.12 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 1.48 points to 1,243.23.

JAKARTA: Up 1.01 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index gained 23.67 points at 2,367.70.

MANILA: Up 1.61 percent. The index gained 46.17 points to 2,908.50.

WELLINGTON: Up 0.63 percent. The NZX-50 rose 20.00 points to 3,215.62.

MUMBAI: Down 0.97 percent. The 30-share Sensex index fell 156.44 points to 15,896.28, a near two-month-low.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email