Headline equities of the Asia Pacific market mostly advanced on Tuesday,
27 January 2015, on tracking positive lead from the Wall Street and
Europe overnight and on hopes Greece's new anti-austerity government
will be able thrash out a new bailout deal with its creditors
But, gain on the upside was limited on news out of China that industrial companies' profits had fallen 8% month-on-month in December. The National Bureau of Statistic also said combined profits of industrials rose 3.3% year-on-year in 2014, much slower than the 12.2% in 2013.
Also, traders seemed reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
Among Asian bourses
Australia market rises to fresh four months high
The Australian share market advanced, as larger-than-expected economic stimulus from the European Central Bank continued to drive investors to reshuffle their portfolios toward higher-yielding assets. Among sectors, gains among the big four banks, Telstra and healthcare companies offset a slide in the resources sector. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index and the broader All Ordinaries Index both rose by 0.8% to 5547.20 and 5511.50, respectively, a strongest close since mid-September 2014.
Financial stocks closed higher, with top four lender leading rally, on tracking moderate gains for the U.S. market overnight. Westpac Banking Corp advanced 0.7% to A$34.56, ANZ Banking Group 1.2% to A$32.57, National Australia Bank 1.1% to A$35.15 and Commonwealth Bank of Australia 1.6% to A$87.63.
Retailers were broadly higher, with Harvey Norman Holdings up 2.4% to A$3.81. Wesfarmers was up 1.3% to A$43.69 despite J.P. Morgan cut its profit outlook for the company.
Healthcare stocks were also higher, with ResMed jumping 7.4 per cent to A$8.38 following Friday's bumper second-quarter earnings, while CSL gaining 1.25 per cent to A$86.42.
But on the downside, a fresh slump in iron-ore prices kicked the miners lower, with heavyweight BHP Billiton falling 1.5% to A$28.95 and Rio Tinto losing 0.1% to A$56.80.
Australia's third largest iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group fell 2.4% to A$2.08. Bucking the peers trend, Liquefied Natural Gas Limited rose 16.4 per cent to close at A$3.05, after announcing it had a A$53.2 million cash balance in its quarterly results for December 2014.
Another pullback for crude-oil futures, meanwhile, sent shares of energy companies lower.
Australia's biggest oil producer Woodside Petroleum declined 0.4% to A$34.25. Origin Energy sank 1.3% to A$10.71 and Santos lost 3.1% to A$7.56. Although Caltex Australia added 1.3% to A$34.25 after broker Bell Potter increased its earnings forecast but maintained a sell recommendation on the name.
Nikkei rises to 1-month high
Japanese share market closed sharp higher as appetite for risk assets underpinned by a weaker yen and expectations for good earnings results. The Nikkei Stock Average and the broader Topix both gained 1.7% to 17768.30 and 1426.38, respectively, the highest closing level since 26 December 2014.
Shares in Tokyo market opened sharp higher on the back of reports that foreign investors were buying heavily in premarket trade. A solid advance for the dollar to 118.61 yen from 118.17 yen at the previous stock close also helped.
Shares of currency-sensitive companies advanced after the yen gained 0.2% to 118.29 per dollar after falling 0.6% yesterday. TDK added 2.9% and Tokyo Electron gained 2.4%.
The big banks also found bids on heightened expectations for share buybacks. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 3.2%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 3%.
Among individual mover, online retailer Rakuten added 4.6% after the firm's securities unit reported third-quarter results showing an operating profit of Y5.8 billion, ahead of many forecasts and boding well for the parent, which announce its fiscal year results Feb. 12.
Shares of Hoya added 5.2% after JPMorgan raised its rating to Overweight from Neutral while lifting its price target to Y5700 from Y3900, citing stable growth for eyeglass lenses, contact lenses, endoscopes, and other products.
Canon advanced 1.3% after reports that it will seek to raise the proportion of treasury stock it owns to 30% by 2020, up from the current 18%, in a bid to raise its return-on-equity.
Trading house Marubeni fell 0.3%, extending yesterday's 4.7% plunge after the company said it would post Y160 billion fiscal-year impairment loss due to weaker commodities prices, particularly in its natural resources business, blaming a sharper-than-anticipated plunge in crude oil prices.
On the macro front, Japan's trade deficit swelled 11.4% Y-o-Y to a record 12.781 trillion yen in 2014, according to the finance ministry. In December alone, however, the deficit almost halved from the same month a year before to 660.7 billion yen, thanks to lower oil prices. In 2014, imports rose 5.7% to a record 85.89 trillion yen reflecting increased imports of liquefied natural gas and electric parts, outstripping the 4.8% jump in exports to 73.11 trillion yen.
China stocks snap winning streak amid growth, yuan concerns
Mainland China share market closed lower for the first time in six consecutive sessions on Tuesday, 27 January 2015, as profit booking across the board, with financial and commodity companies being major losers. The selloff triggered amid concerns fueled by sharp fall for China's yuan and a drop in the profit growth at major Chinese industrial companies. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.9% to close at 3352.96, halting a five-day, 8.6% gain.
The National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that profits in the industrial sector declined 8% year over year (y/y) to CNY850.7 billion in December 2014 compared with a 4.2% fall in November. For the 2014 full year profits rose 3.3% y/y to CNY6.47 trillion compared with a 5.3% rise in the first 11 months and a 12.2% rise in 2013, the NBS said.
Total of seven out of ten SSE industry groups declined, with shares of financial issue falling the most, down 2.1%, followed by energy (down 1.55%), utilities (down 0.73%), materials (down 0.72%), consumer staples (down 0.62%), and healthcare (down 0.3%). On the upside, consumer discretionary issue rose 1.23%, industrial jumped 1.06%, and information technology climbed 0.7%.
Shares of financial and energy companies declined the most in Beijing. Citic Securities Co, China's biggest listed brokerage, fell 2%, while ICBC retreated 3%. Bank of China Ltd. lost 3.1%. PetroChina, the nation's biggest oil company, fell 3.7%. China Shenhua Energy Co., the country's largest coal producer, lost 2.4%.
Car makers were higher, with Great Wall Motor Co leading the rally, up 4.6%, on reports that the company's earnings are turning around after net income increased 20% in the fourth quarter. SAIC Motor Corp gained 2.5%. FAW Car Co added 7%.
Hang Seng ends 0.41% down
Hong Kong share market closed down in volatile trade, as profit booking triggered on tracking drop in Mainland A-share market. The benchmark index opened 85 points firmer following the gain on Wall Street overnight, but fell short of 25000 barrier after mainland A-share market turned south. The Hang Seng Index ended down 102 points or 0.4% to 24,807, off an intra-day high of 24,995 and day low of 24,672.
Within HK 50 blue chips, 20 stocks rose and 29 fell, while remaining 1 stocks unchanged. Galaxy Entertainment (0027) rose 6.5% to HK$43.55, while China Construction Bank (0939) dipped 2.2% to HK$6.29, making themselves the biggest blue chip winner and loser.
Shares of Macau gaming counters rose after Citi Research forecast January GGR in the gaming industry may fare better than expected. Galaxy Ent (00027) soared 6.5% to HK$43.55. It was the top blue-chip winner, followed by Sands China (01928), which gained 3% to HK$40.15. Wynn Macau (01128) jumped 8.4% to HK$21.9. MGM China (02282) and Melco Dev (00200) added 6% to HK$19.48 and HK$16. Melco Crown (06883) shot up 6% to HK$63.1. SJM (00880) rose 5% to HK$11.94.
On the macro front, Hong Kong's value of total exports of goods (comprising re-exports and domestic exports) rose 0.6% in December 2014 over a year earlier to HK$312.8 billion, after a year-on-year increase of 0.4% in November 2014, according to the Census and Statistics Department. For 2014 as a whole, the value of total exports of goods rose by 3.2% over 2013.
Sensex extends gain for the 8th trading session in a row
Indian stock market advanced on the first trading session of the week after India and the US on Sunday, 25 January 2015, reached an understanding on resolving the logjam in implementing the historic 2006 India-US nuclear deal and decided to take defence cooperation to a new level after bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit record high on intraday basis as well as closing basis. The Sensex rose 292.20 points or 1% to settle at 29,571.04. The CNX Nifty rose 74.90 points or 0.85% to settle at 8,910.50, a record closing high.
Indian index heavyweights ITC, L&T, HDFC, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank edged higher. But, Infosys which is also an index heavyweight, dropped. Maruti Suzuki India scaled record high after reporting good Q3 result. Max India scaled record high after the company's board approved a corporate restructuring plan to vertically split the company through a demerger into three separate listed companies. Sugar shares gained on renewed buying.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 2099.22 crore from the secondary equity market during the previous trading session on Friday, 23 January 2015, as per data from Central Depository Services. The stock market was closed yesterday, 26 January 2015, for Republic Day holiday.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index added 0.46% to 9521.59. South Korea KOSPI rose 0.86% to 1952.40. New Zealand's NZX50 jumped 0.69% at 5737.74. Singapore's Straits Times index advanced 0.4% at 3412.20. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was up 0.33% to 5277.15. Malaysia's KLCI added 0.37% to 1803.17.
But, gain on the upside was limited on news out of China that industrial companies' profits had fallen 8% month-on-month in December. The National Bureau of Statistic also said combined profits of industrials rose 3.3% year-on-year in 2014, much slower than the 12.2% in 2013.
Also, traders seemed reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
Among Asian bourses
Australia market rises to fresh four months high
The Australian share market advanced, as larger-than-expected economic stimulus from the European Central Bank continued to drive investors to reshuffle their portfolios toward higher-yielding assets. Among sectors, gains among the big four banks, Telstra and healthcare companies offset a slide in the resources sector. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index and the broader All Ordinaries Index both rose by 0.8% to 5547.20 and 5511.50, respectively, a strongest close since mid-September 2014.
Financial stocks closed higher, with top four lender leading rally, on tracking moderate gains for the U.S. market overnight. Westpac Banking Corp advanced 0.7% to A$34.56, ANZ Banking Group 1.2% to A$32.57, National Australia Bank 1.1% to A$35.15 and Commonwealth Bank of Australia 1.6% to A$87.63.
Retailers were broadly higher, with Harvey Norman Holdings up 2.4% to A$3.81. Wesfarmers was up 1.3% to A$43.69 despite J.P. Morgan cut its profit outlook for the company.
Healthcare stocks were also higher, with ResMed jumping 7.4 per cent to A$8.38 following Friday's bumper second-quarter earnings, while CSL gaining 1.25 per cent to A$86.42.
But on the downside, a fresh slump in iron-ore prices kicked the miners lower, with heavyweight BHP Billiton falling 1.5% to A$28.95 and Rio Tinto losing 0.1% to A$56.80.
Australia's third largest iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group fell 2.4% to A$2.08. Bucking the peers trend, Liquefied Natural Gas Limited rose 16.4 per cent to close at A$3.05, after announcing it had a A$53.2 million cash balance in its quarterly results for December 2014.
Another pullback for crude-oil futures, meanwhile, sent shares of energy companies lower.
Australia's biggest oil producer Woodside Petroleum declined 0.4% to A$34.25. Origin Energy sank 1.3% to A$10.71 and Santos lost 3.1% to A$7.56. Although Caltex Australia added 1.3% to A$34.25 after broker Bell Potter increased its earnings forecast but maintained a sell recommendation on the name.
Nikkei rises to 1-month high
Japanese share market closed sharp higher as appetite for risk assets underpinned by a weaker yen and expectations for good earnings results. The Nikkei Stock Average and the broader Topix both gained 1.7% to 17768.30 and 1426.38, respectively, the highest closing level since 26 December 2014.
Shares in Tokyo market opened sharp higher on the back of reports that foreign investors were buying heavily in premarket trade. A solid advance for the dollar to 118.61 yen from 118.17 yen at the previous stock close also helped.
Shares of currency-sensitive companies advanced after the yen gained 0.2% to 118.29 per dollar after falling 0.6% yesterday. TDK added 2.9% and Tokyo Electron gained 2.4%.
The big banks also found bids on heightened expectations for share buybacks. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 3.2%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 3%.
Among individual mover, online retailer Rakuten added 4.6% after the firm's securities unit reported third-quarter results showing an operating profit of Y5.8 billion, ahead of many forecasts and boding well for the parent, which announce its fiscal year results Feb. 12.
Shares of Hoya added 5.2% after JPMorgan raised its rating to Overweight from Neutral while lifting its price target to Y5700 from Y3900, citing stable growth for eyeglass lenses, contact lenses, endoscopes, and other products.
Canon advanced 1.3% after reports that it will seek to raise the proportion of treasury stock it owns to 30% by 2020, up from the current 18%, in a bid to raise its return-on-equity.
Trading house Marubeni fell 0.3%, extending yesterday's 4.7% plunge after the company said it would post Y160 billion fiscal-year impairment loss due to weaker commodities prices, particularly in its natural resources business, blaming a sharper-than-anticipated plunge in crude oil prices.
On the macro front, Japan's trade deficit swelled 11.4% Y-o-Y to a record 12.781 trillion yen in 2014, according to the finance ministry. In December alone, however, the deficit almost halved from the same month a year before to 660.7 billion yen, thanks to lower oil prices. In 2014, imports rose 5.7% to a record 85.89 trillion yen reflecting increased imports of liquefied natural gas and electric parts, outstripping the 4.8% jump in exports to 73.11 trillion yen.
China stocks snap winning streak amid growth, yuan concerns
Mainland China share market closed lower for the first time in six consecutive sessions on Tuesday, 27 January 2015, as profit booking across the board, with financial and commodity companies being major losers. The selloff triggered amid concerns fueled by sharp fall for China's yuan and a drop in the profit growth at major Chinese industrial companies. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.9% to close at 3352.96, halting a five-day, 8.6% gain.
The National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that profits in the industrial sector declined 8% year over year (y/y) to CNY850.7 billion in December 2014 compared with a 4.2% fall in November. For the 2014 full year profits rose 3.3% y/y to CNY6.47 trillion compared with a 5.3% rise in the first 11 months and a 12.2% rise in 2013, the NBS said.
Total of seven out of ten SSE industry groups declined, with shares of financial issue falling the most, down 2.1%, followed by energy (down 1.55%), utilities (down 0.73%), materials (down 0.72%), consumer staples (down 0.62%), and healthcare (down 0.3%). On the upside, consumer discretionary issue rose 1.23%, industrial jumped 1.06%, and information technology climbed 0.7%.
Shares of financial and energy companies declined the most in Beijing. Citic Securities Co, China's biggest listed brokerage, fell 2%, while ICBC retreated 3%. Bank of China Ltd. lost 3.1%. PetroChina, the nation's biggest oil company, fell 3.7%. China Shenhua Energy Co., the country's largest coal producer, lost 2.4%.
Car makers were higher, with Great Wall Motor Co leading the rally, up 4.6%, on reports that the company's earnings are turning around after net income increased 20% in the fourth quarter. SAIC Motor Corp gained 2.5%. FAW Car Co added 7%.
Hang Seng ends 0.41% down
Hong Kong share market closed down in volatile trade, as profit booking triggered on tracking drop in Mainland A-share market. The benchmark index opened 85 points firmer following the gain on Wall Street overnight, but fell short of 25000 barrier after mainland A-share market turned south. The Hang Seng Index ended down 102 points or 0.4% to 24,807, off an intra-day high of 24,995 and day low of 24,672.
Within HK 50 blue chips, 20 stocks rose and 29 fell, while remaining 1 stocks unchanged. Galaxy Entertainment (0027) rose 6.5% to HK$43.55, while China Construction Bank (0939) dipped 2.2% to HK$6.29, making themselves the biggest blue chip winner and loser.
Shares of Macau gaming counters rose after Citi Research forecast January GGR in the gaming industry may fare better than expected. Galaxy Ent (00027) soared 6.5% to HK$43.55. It was the top blue-chip winner, followed by Sands China (01928), which gained 3% to HK$40.15. Wynn Macau (01128) jumped 8.4% to HK$21.9. MGM China (02282) and Melco Dev (00200) added 6% to HK$19.48 and HK$16. Melco Crown (06883) shot up 6% to HK$63.1. SJM (00880) rose 5% to HK$11.94.
On the macro front, Hong Kong's value of total exports of goods (comprising re-exports and domestic exports) rose 0.6% in December 2014 over a year earlier to HK$312.8 billion, after a year-on-year increase of 0.4% in November 2014, according to the Census and Statistics Department. For 2014 as a whole, the value of total exports of goods rose by 3.2% over 2013.
Sensex extends gain for the 8th trading session in a row
Indian stock market advanced on the first trading session of the week after India and the US on Sunday, 25 January 2015, reached an understanding on resolving the logjam in implementing the historic 2006 India-US nuclear deal and decided to take defence cooperation to a new level after bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit record high on intraday basis as well as closing basis. The Sensex rose 292.20 points or 1% to settle at 29,571.04. The CNX Nifty rose 74.90 points or 0.85% to settle at 8,910.50, a record closing high.
Indian index heavyweights ITC, L&T, HDFC, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank edged higher. But, Infosys which is also an index heavyweight, dropped. Maruti Suzuki India scaled record high after reporting good Q3 result. Max India scaled record high after the company's board approved a corporate restructuring plan to vertically split the company through a demerger into three separate listed companies. Sugar shares gained on renewed buying.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 2099.22 crore from the secondary equity market during the previous trading session on Friday, 23 January 2015, as per data from Central Depository Services. The stock market was closed yesterday, 26 January 2015, for Republic Day holiday.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index added 0.46% to 9521.59. South Korea KOSPI rose 0.86% to 1952.40. New Zealand's NZX50 jumped 0.69% at 5737.74. Singapore's Straits Times index advanced 0.4% at 3412.20. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was up 0.33% to 5277.15. Malaysia's KLCI added 0.37% to 1803.17.
