Headline equities of the Asia Pacific market mostly advanced on Tuesday,
20 January 2015, as investors chased for value buying following
yesterday's selloff. Meanwhile, better than expected China's 2014 GDP
growth of 7.4% bolstered risk sentiments. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index
gained 0.1% to 137.74.
China's fourth quarter gross domestic product came in better than expected at 7.3% from the year-ago period. This was a tick higher than the 7.2% forecast by market analysts and holding steady from the prior quarter. China's economy expanded 7.4% in 2014, the slowest growth for the world's second-biggest economy since 1990, when it expanded 3.8%, and undershoots the official full-year target of 7.5%. China's economy grew 7.7% in 2013. China's slowdown is partly a function of Beijing's efforts to transform the economy, weaning it off overreliance on heavy industry and trade in favor of domestic consumption.
However, gains on the upside was limited as investors seemed reluctant to make major moves ahead of major events such as the European Central Bank's policy-setting meeting Jan. 22 and the Greek election on Jan. 25.
The regional market showed a muted reaction to lunchtime headlines that the International Monetary Fund had downgraded its outlook for more than a dozen of the world's largest economies, including flagging markedly slower growth in China. The fund said global growth would be 0.3 percentage point lower this year and next than it had previously expected. It now expects the world economy to expand 3.5% this year and 3.7% in 2016.
Among Asian bourses
Nikkei surges 2.07% on softer yen, ahead of BOJ meeting
Japanese share market closed sharply higher, as yen depreciation against the greenback and better than expected China's 2014 GDP growth of 7.4% bolstered risk sentiments. The Nikkei Stock Average ended up 2.07% at 17366.30, while the broader Topix added 1.84% to 1397.63.
Shares of Japanese Securities and Commodity brokerages advanced the most in Tokyo market, on the back of bargain buying following yesterday slump. Nomura Holdings Inc rose 2.6% to 632.70 yen. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. advanced 3.2% to 882.50 yen.
Shares of currency-sensitive exporters extended gain, with Tokyo Electron rising 1% to 8462 yen and Fuji Heavy Industries adding 2.8% to 4400 yen. Sony Corp gained 0.8% to 2,462.50 yen and Canon Inc. climbed 1.7% to 3850 yen. Honda Motor Co added 0.6% to 3646 yen.
Kobe Steel jumped 6.3% to 203 yen, after Credit Suisse revised up its share price target for the steelmaker to 320 yen from 220 yen, citing the company is only global provider of metals such as aluminum in the shift towards lighter weight automobiles.
Itochu slumped 2.5% to 1207 yen on reports the Japanese trading company and Thai agribusiness Charoen Pokphand Group plan to jointly buy an initial stake of 10% in China's Citic for about $4 billion.
Australia market ends nudge lower
Australian share market closed nudge lower, as weakness in energy and resource stocks outweighed a modest bounce-back for the financials. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 1.40 points to 5307.70 and the broader All Ordinaries Index fell 2.20 points to 5286.80.
Financial stocks closed higher, with Westpac Banking Corp leading the rally, up 0.8% to A$32.89, meanwhile ANZ Banking Group rose 0.7% to A$31.51, National Australia Bank added 0.7% to A$33.56 and Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 0.5% to A$83.50. Macquarie Group added 2.7% to A$59.80 after hiking its profit outlook.
Shares of material and resources companies mostly down, with heavyweight BHP Billiton erasing 0.8% to A$27.48 while it's rival Rio Tinto sank 0.9% to A$53.69 despite promised in 2014 and sold more than it produced. Australia's third largest iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group rebounded 2.2% to A$2.33.
Arrium was down 5% to A$0.19 and Atlas Iron sank 5.3% to A$0.18 after saying fiscal first-half shipments rose roughly 35% but also cutting its capex outlook.
Energy issue declined the most in the ASX sectoral group, as the oil price continued to slide. Brent crude oil tumbled 2.7% to $48.84 a barrel on Monday. Australia's biggest oil producer Woodside Petroleum fell 5.6% to A$32.25. Origin Energy sank 1.7% to A$10.42 and Santos 2% to A$7.39.
China market rebounds after GDP data
Mainland China share market closed higher in volatile trade, with sentiment supported by slightly better-than-expected GDP data for the fourth quarter ended December 2014. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rebounded 1.82% to close at 3173.05, after falling 7.73% previous day.
Shares of industrials and consumer discretionary sectors rose the most in Beijing after National Bureau of Statistics data showed industrial production rose 7.9% Y-o-Y in December, up from November's 7.2% growth, while retail sales increased better than expected 11.9% from a year earlier. Among industrials, CSR Corp. jumped 10% upper circuit at 13.26 yuan. China CNR Corp was up 10% daily limit at 13.63 yuan. China Eastern Airlines Co. climbed 3.9% to 5.04 yuan. China Railway Group advanced 4.3% to 8 yuan. Among consumer discretionary stocks, SAIC Motor Corp. added 2.1% to 23.33 yuan and Great Wall Motor Co jumped 7% to 42.16 yuan.
Shares of brokerage houses extended losses after regulators punished a number of brokerages for breaking margin lending rules. The China Securities Regulatory Commission suspended Citic Securities, Haitong Securities and Guotai Junan Securities from lending money and stock to new clients for three months. Nine other brokerages were also punished for offenses such as allowing unqualified investors to open margin finance and securities lending accounts. The penalties raised worries that policymakers are trying to control an outstanding surge in stock purchases using borrowed money, as margin loans accumulated to 1.08 trillion yuan as of January 13 from about 400 billion yuan six months ago. Among brokerages, Citic Securities Co fell 9.9% to 26.69 yuan and Haitong Securities Co lost 8.8% to 18.90 yuan, extended yesterday's slump, after they were suspended from loaning money to new equity-trading clients.
Hang Seng ups 0.9% after China GDP beats estimate
Hong Kong share market closed higher in volatile trade, on tracking rebound in the Mainland A-share market and other regional bourses, thanks to better than expected Chinese economic data. The Hang Seng Index ended higher by 212.67 points or 0.9% to 23951.16, off an intra-day high of 23997.31 and day low of 23747.92. Turnover reduced to HK$88.49 billion from HK$127.9 billion on Monday.
Mainland Chinese brokers rebounded after yesterday's heavy losses. CSRC said in its website that the regulatory actions against rule-violating brokers do not suggest a cool down of stock markets. China Life (02628) put on 4.2% to HK$30.85. Ping An (02318) gained 3% to HK$83.6. CPIC (02601) also jumped 3.7% to HK$36.75.
Chinese insurers and banks also rebounded. Haitong Sec (06837) soared 8.3% to HK$16.64. CITIC Sec (06030) shot up 6% to HK$25. CGS (06881) rose 6% to HK$25.
Utilities counters saw profit-taking as risk-aversion sentiment cooled down. Power Assets (00006) was the worst blue-chip loser. It fell 1% to HK$78.05. HK & China Gas (00003) slipped 0.5% to HK$17.82. CLP (00002) edged up 0.2% to HK$68.65.
Nifty scales record high
The rally on the bourses gathered steam as Indian benchmark indices extended gains in afternoon trade, with the 50-unit CNX Nifty hitting a record high. At 13:17 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 250.48 points or 0.89% at 28,512.49. The index jumped 272.71 points at the day's high of 28,534.72 in afternoon trade, its highest level since 5 December 2014. The CNX Nifty was up 72.65 points or 0.85% at 8,623.35. The index hit a high of 8,629.85 in intraday trade, a lifetime high for the index.
Realty stocks edged higher. Reliance Communications (RCom) gained after the company said that a committee of directors has allotted 8.66 crore shares to Telecom Infrastructure Finance Private (TIFPL), a promoter group company against warrants issued to TIFPL. Shares of companies whose fortunes are linked to orders from Indian railways edged higher. Axis Bank edged higher after the private sector bank said that the Board of Directors of the bank reappointed Shikha Sharma as Managing Director and CEO of the Bank for a further period of three years.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 433.72 crore yesterday, 19 January 2015, as per provisional data.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index added 0.85% to 9251.69. South Korea KOSPI was up 0.82% to 1918.31. New Zealand's NZX50 fell 0.1% at 5633.22. Singapore's Straits Times index advanced 0.72% at 3331.67. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index edged up 0.01% to 5152.55. Malaysia's KLCI fell 0.18% to 1750.11.
China's fourth quarter gross domestic product came in better than expected at 7.3% from the year-ago period. This was a tick higher than the 7.2% forecast by market analysts and holding steady from the prior quarter. China's economy expanded 7.4% in 2014, the slowest growth for the world's second-biggest economy since 1990, when it expanded 3.8%, and undershoots the official full-year target of 7.5%. China's economy grew 7.7% in 2013. China's slowdown is partly a function of Beijing's efforts to transform the economy, weaning it off overreliance on heavy industry and trade in favor of domestic consumption.
However, gains on the upside was limited as investors seemed reluctant to make major moves ahead of major events such as the European Central Bank's policy-setting meeting Jan. 22 and the Greek election on Jan. 25.
The regional market showed a muted reaction to lunchtime headlines that the International Monetary Fund had downgraded its outlook for more than a dozen of the world's largest economies, including flagging markedly slower growth in China. The fund said global growth would be 0.3 percentage point lower this year and next than it had previously expected. It now expects the world economy to expand 3.5% this year and 3.7% in 2016.
Among Asian bourses
Nikkei surges 2.07% on softer yen, ahead of BOJ meeting
Japanese share market closed sharply higher, as yen depreciation against the greenback and better than expected China's 2014 GDP growth of 7.4% bolstered risk sentiments. The Nikkei Stock Average ended up 2.07% at 17366.30, while the broader Topix added 1.84% to 1397.63.
Shares of Japanese Securities and Commodity brokerages advanced the most in Tokyo market, on the back of bargain buying following yesterday slump. Nomura Holdings Inc rose 2.6% to 632.70 yen. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. advanced 3.2% to 882.50 yen.
Shares of currency-sensitive exporters extended gain, with Tokyo Electron rising 1% to 8462 yen and Fuji Heavy Industries adding 2.8% to 4400 yen. Sony Corp gained 0.8% to 2,462.50 yen and Canon Inc. climbed 1.7% to 3850 yen. Honda Motor Co added 0.6% to 3646 yen.
Kobe Steel jumped 6.3% to 203 yen, after Credit Suisse revised up its share price target for the steelmaker to 320 yen from 220 yen, citing the company is only global provider of metals such as aluminum in the shift towards lighter weight automobiles.
Itochu slumped 2.5% to 1207 yen on reports the Japanese trading company and Thai agribusiness Charoen Pokphand Group plan to jointly buy an initial stake of 10% in China's Citic for about $4 billion.
Australia market ends nudge lower
Australian share market closed nudge lower, as weakness in energy and resource stocks outweighed a modest bounce-back for the financials. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 1.40 points to 5307.70 and the broader All Ordinaries Index fell 2.20 points to 5286.80.
Financial stocks closed higher, with Westpac Banking Corp leading the rally, up 0.8% to A$32.89, meanwhile ANZ Banking Group rose 0.7% to A$31.51, National Australia Bank added 0.7% to A$33.56 and Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 0.5% to A$83.50. Macquarie Group added 2.7% to A$59.80 after hiking its profit outlook.
Shares of material and resources companies mostly down, with heavyweight BHP Billiton erasing 0.8% to A$27.48 while it's rival Rio Tinto sank 0.9% to A$53.69 despite promised in 2014 and sold more than it produced. Australia's third largest iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group rebounded 2.2% to A$2.33.
Arrium was down 5% to A$0.19 and Atlas Iron sank 5.3% to A$0.18 after saying fiscal first-half shipments rose roughly 35% but also cutting its capex outlook.
Energy issue declined the most in the ASX sectoral group, as the oil price continued to slide. Brent crude oil tumbled 2.7% to $48.84 a barrel on Monday. Australia's biggest oil producer Woodside Petroleum fell 5.6% to A$32.25. Origin Energy sank 1.7% to A$10.42 and Santos 2% to A$7.39.
China market rebounds after GDP data
Mainland China share market closed higher in volatile trade, with sentiment supported by slightly better-than-expected GDP data for the fourth quarter ended December 2014. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rebounded 1.82% to close at 3173.05, after falling 7.73% previous day.
Shares of industrials and consumer discretionary sectors rose the most in Beijing after National Bureau of Statistics data showed industrial production rose 7.9% Y-o-Y in December, up from November's 7.2% growth, while retail sales increased better than expected 11.9% from a year earlier. Among industrials, CSR Corp. jumped 10% upper circuit at 13.26 yuan. China CNR Corp was up 10% daily limit at 13.63 yuan. China Eastern Airlines Co. climbed 3.9% to 5.04 yuan. China Railway Group advanced 4.3% to 8 yuan. Among consumer discretionary stocks, SAIC Motor Corp. added 2.1% to 23.33 yuan and Great Wall Motor Co jumped 7% to 42.16 yuan.
Shares of brokerage houses extended losses after regulators punished a number of brokerages for breaking margin lending rules. The China Securities Regulatory Commission suspended Citic Securities, Haitong Securities and Guotai Junan Securities from lending money and stock to new clients for three months. Nine other brokerages were also punished for offenses such as allowing unqualified investors to open margin finance and securities lending accounts. The penalties raised worries that policymakers are trying to control an outstanding surge in stock purchases using borrowed money, as margin loans accumulated to 1.08 trillion yuan as of January 13 from about 400 billion yuan six months ago. Among brokerages, Citic Securities Co fell 9.9% to 26.69 yuan and Haitong Securities Co lost 8.8% to 18.90 yuan, extended yesterday's slump, after they were suspended from loaning money to new equity-trading clients.
Hang Seng ups 0.9% after China GDP beats estimate
Hong Kong share market closed higher in volatile trade, on tracking rebound in the Mainland A-share market and other regional bourses, thanks to better than expected Chinese economic data. The Hang Seng Index ended higher by 212.67 points or 0.9% to 23951.16, off an intra-day high of 23997.31 and day low of 23747.92. Turnover reduced to HK$88.49 billion from HK$127.9 billion on Monday.
Mainland Chinese brokers rebounded after yesterday's heavy losses. CSRC said in its website that the regulatory actions against rule-violating brokers do not suggest a cool down of stock markets. China Life (02628) put on 4.2% to HK$30.85. Ping An (02318) gained 3% to HK$83.6. CPIC (02601) also jumped 3.7% to HK$36.75.
Chinese insurers and banks also rebounded. Haitong Sec (06837) soared 8.3% to HK$16.64. CITIC Sec (06030) shot up 6% to HK$25. CGS (06881) rose 6% to HK$25.
Utilities counters saw profit-taking as risk-aversion sentiment cooled down. Power Assets (00006) was the worst blue-chip loser. It fell 1% to HK$78.05. HK & China Gas (00003) slipped 0.5% to HK$17.82. CLP (00002) edged up 0.2% to HK$68.65.
Nifty scales record high
The rally on the bourses gathered steam as Indian benchmark indices extended gains in afternoon trade, with the 50-unit CNX Nifty hitting a record high. At 13:17 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 250.48 points or 0.89% at 28,512.49. The index jumped 272.71 points at the day's high of 28,534.72 in afternoon trade, its highest level since 5 December 2014. The CNX Nifty was up 72.65 points or 0.85% at 8,623.35. The index hit a high of 8,629.85 in intraday trade, a lifetime high for the index.
Realty stocks edged higher. Reliance Communications (RCom) gained after the company said that a committee of directors has allotted 8.66 crore shares to Telecom Infrastructure Finance Private (TIFPL), a promoter group company against warrants issued to TIFPL. Shares of companies whose fortunes are linked to orders from Indian railways edged higher. Axis Bank edged higher after the private sector bank said that the Board of Directors of the bank reappointed Shikha Sharma as Managing Director and CEO of the Bank for a further period of three years.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 433.72 crore yesterday, 19 January 2015, as per provisional data.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index added 0.85% to 9251.69. South Korea KOSPI was up 0.82% to 1918.31. New Zealand's NZX50 fell 0.1% at 5633.22. Singapore's Straits Times index advanced 0.72% at 3331.67. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index edged up 0.01% to 5152.55. Malaysia's KLCI fell 0.18% to 1750.11.
