Asia Pacific market mostly advanced on Monday, 16 March 2015, as
investors chased for value buying following last week selloff. The
buying spree aided by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledge to intervene if
China's growth lags too much. However, growing expectations for a
sooner-than-expected rate hike in the U.S. and lower oil prices capped
advances.
China's Premier Li Keqiang said at the close of China's annual legislature on Sunday that officials still have plenty of space and means to shore up slowing growth in the world's No. 2 economy. He assured that policymakers would prop up the economy if growth was at risk of breaching a "lower limit", or hurt employment and income gains.
The Fed will begin two-day meeting on Tuesday, which could shed light on its plans.
Growing numbers of economists sharply divided over when the Fed will raise rates, with some projecting a change in the second quarter and others saying it may happen in the third quarter or later and they will be watching to see whether officials signal through their language whether that's the case. Market analyst expects the world's most influential central bank to remove its "patient" promise, opening the door for a discussion about raising interest rates this year.
Among Asian bourses
Energy, mining shares weigh down Australia market
The Australian share market closed the session with losses, as fall in energy and mining stocks were more than offset by gains in the big banks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 16.80 points, or 0.29%, to 577.70 and the broader All Ordinaries Index sank 18.30 points, or 0.32%, to 5769.70. Market turnover was relatively healthy, with 1.84 billion shares changing hands worth of A$3.9 billion.
Shares of energy companies declined the most in Sydney market, hurt by continued weakness in crude oil prices. Crude-oil for delivery in April delivery fell $2.21, or 4.7%, to settle at $44.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. April Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange shed $2.41, or 4.2%, to settle at $54.67 a barrel. Woodside Petroleum declined 2.2% to A$33.99, Santos 2% to A$6.97, Oil Search 3.8% to A$7.59 and Beach Energy 2% to A$0.99.
Shares of mining companies were mixed, with BHP Billiton down 1.2% to A$29.40 and Whitehaven Coal down 0.3% to A$1.54, while Rio Tinto gained 0.7% to A$57.70 and Fortescue Metals Group rose 0.5% to A$2.01 on the back of mild improvement for iron-ore prices. Gold miners Newcrest Mining rose 0.8% to A$12.53 and Perseus Mining jumped 7.8% to A$0.275 on tracking improvement for gold futures. Oz Minerals fell 1.9% to A$3.72 after it sold off its 19% stake in the copper miner for a small discount to their previous closing price.
Nikkei softens 8.19 points at close
Japanese share market closed marginal lower in light trade, as profit-taking set in after the benchmark index surging near 15-year high last. Also, risk sentiments muted on caution ahead of monetary policy decisions from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) tomorrow and the Federal Reserve meeting on late Tuesday for clues on the timeline for higher U.S. interest rates. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 8.19 points, or 0.04%, to close at 19246.06. The broader Topix index fell 2.12 points, or 0.14%, to 1558.21.
The BOJ is expected to maintain its pace of quantitative easing, but the central bank may be forced to increase its already massive stimulus package later in the year to achieve its 2% inflation target.
Shares of financial players were broadly higher, amid expectation of no major policy change in Bank of Japan monetary policy meeting. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc rose 0.9% to 797 yen, Mizuho Financial Group Inc 0.4% to 223.20 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc 1.6% to 4858.50 yen.
Exporters were mostly down on profit taking as the Japanese yen little changed against the U.S. dollar (which was buying 121.39 yen).Toshiba Corp fell 0.6% to 476.20 yen, Sharp Corp lost 2.1% to 237 yen, and Hitachi shed 1.2% to 801 yen, while Kyocera Corp added 0.9% to 6268 yen. Honda Motor Co shed 0.1% to 4133 yen in spite of report updating progress on the HondaJet, which a Honda executive described the "luxury sports car" of small passenger jets.
Shares of Nintendo Co advanced 1.4% to 13885 yen after NPD data out at the end of last week showed U.S. revenue from its portable 3Ds device more than doubling in February. But rival Sony Corp declined 3.8% to 3102 yen, as NPD reported a 5% drop last month in PlayStation, Xbox and other gaming consoles. Auto stocks were mixed.
China market jumps 2.26% on rising stimulus bets
Mainland China share market advanced for fourth straight session on the speculation of further stimulus measures from Beijing, after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's statement on Sunday that the government has room, as well as the tools, to step in if economic growth, targeted at about 7% for 2015, drifts toward the lower limit of its range and affect employment. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 76.39 points, or 2.26%, to 3449.30. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, rose 8.01 points, or 2.43%, to 3705.67.
All ten SSE industry groups advanced, with information technology issue leading the rally, up 4.2%, followed by healthcare (up 2.7%), consumer discretionary (up 2.7%), consumer staples (up 2.7%), telecommunication services (up 2.6%), materials (up 2.6%), financial (up 2.4%), utilities (2.2%), industrials (up 2%), and energy (up 1.4%).
Shares of technology companies advanced the most in Beijing after Premier Li Keqiang encouraged the development of e-commerce. Hundsun Technologies Inc. surged 9.2% to 98.15 yuan and Glodon Software Co. jumped by the 10% maximum to 37.74 yuan.
Hong Kong market jumps 0.53% on stimulus hopes from Beijing
Hong Kong share market finished the session with gain, on tracking cues from Mainland A-share market, which rose on the prospect of further stimulus measures from Beijing. But, gains on the indices were limited amid growing concerns about the timing and pace of the Federal Reserve's rate increases and the implications for the global market. The Hang Seng Index advanced 126.34 points, or 0.53%, to close at 23949.55, off an intra-day high of 23970.05 and day low of 23711.27. Turnover reduced slightly to HK$73.16 billion from HK$73.7 billion on Friday.
Chinese securities players soared on the A-share market in late trade. Hong Kong-listed securities counters were mostly higher. Guotai Junan (01788) put on 5.4% to HK$6.21. CGS (06881) gained 4.4% to HK$8.31. Haitong Sec (06837) added 2.5%, while CC Securities (01375) rose 3%.
Energy stocks closed mostly lower on the back of falling international crude prices, with PetroChina Co down by 0.4% to HK$8.20 while China Petroleum & Chemical Corp fell 0.2% to HK$6.15 and Cnooc shed 0.6% to HK$10.26. But Sino Oil & Gas Holdings grew 4% to HK$0.18 as the mainland Chinese oil and gas explorer tipped a swing to profit for last year.
China Life Insurance Co advanced 2.2% to HK$31.95 after it reported a 13% jump in its premium revenues to about Rmb114.9 billion for the first two months of this year.
Wharf Holdings declined 3.3% to HK$50.70 after property-focused Hong Kong conglomerate posting a 22% gain in 2014 net profit but a 7% drop in underlying core profit.
The Wharf net profit rose 22.3% to HK$35,930 million for the year ended 31 December 2014. The revenue amounted to HK$38,136 million, an increase of 19.6% from a year earlier. Operating profit grew year-on-year 7.6% to HK$14,283 million. Underlying core profit for the year was HK$10,474 million, down 7.3% year-on-year.
China Saite Group Co declined 9.2% to HK$0.69 after slashing its year-end dividend. China Saite net profit rose 5.3% to Rmb309.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2014. The revenue was Rmb1,660 million, an increase of 16.3% from a year earlier. The average gross profit margin dropped to 29.8% from 33.7%.The proposed final dividend is Rmb1.93 cents (2013: Rmb5.5 cents) per share, payable on or about 30 June.
Sensex, Nifty in red
Indian stock market was lower in the afternoon trade session as metal, oil and gas and capital goods stocks plunged. At 14:45 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 21 points or 0.1% at 28523. The CNX Nifty was down 8.40 points or 0.1% at 8639.
Telecom stocks declined after the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology said in a statement issued at the end of the 10th day of bidding for spectrum on Saturday, 14 March 2015, that about 87% of the spectrum has been provisionally allocated to bidders at a value of approximately Rs 1.02 lakh crore.
The latest data showed that annual rate of inflation based on monthly whole price index (WPI) remained in negative zone last month. Meanwhile, data released by the government after trading hours on Friday, 13 March 2015, showed that India's merchandise exports dipped 15% to $21.55 billion in February 2015 compared with a year ago period.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde reportedly said in New Delhi today, 16 March 2015, that India's economy is bright spot in a cloudy global economy and that recent policy reforms and improved business confidence are set to boost India's growth.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 66.98 crore during the previous trading session on Friday, 13 March 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 71.55 crore on Friday, 13 March 2015, as per provisional data.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: South Korea KOSPI rose 0.08% to 1987.33. Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.7% to 9512.91. New Zealand NZX50 was up 0.05% to 5911.40. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index added 0.4% to 5446.57. Singapore's Straits Times index grew 0.44% at 3377.64. Malaysia's KLCI slipped 0.1% to 1780.54.
China's Premier Li Keqiang said at the close of China's annual legislature on Sunday that officials still have plenty of space and means to shore up slowing growth in the world's No. 2 economy. He assured that policymakers would prop up the economy if growth was at risk of breaching a "lower limit", or hurt employment and income gains.
The Fed will begin two-day meeting on Tuesday, which could shed light on its plans.
Growing numbers of economists sharply divided over when the Fed will raise rates, with some projecting a change in the second quarter and others saying it may happen in the third quarter or later and they will be watching to see whether officials signal through their language whether that's the case. Market analyst expects the world's most influential central bank to remove its "patient" promise, opening the door for a discussion about raising interest rates this year.
Among Asian bourses
Energy, mining shares weigh down Australia market
The Australian share market closed the session with losses, as fall in energy and mining stocks were more than offset by gains in the big banks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 16.80 points, or 0.29%, to 577.70 and the broader All Ordinaries Index sank 18.30 points, or 0.32%, to 5769.70. Market turnover was relatively healthy, with 1.84 billion shares changing hands worth of A$3.9 billion.
Shares of energy companies declined the most in Sydney market, hurt by continued weakness in crude oil prices. Crude-oil for delivery in April delivery fell $2.21, or 4.7%, to settle at $44.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. April Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange shed $2.41, or 4.2%, to settle at $54.67 a barrel. Woodside Petroleum declined 2.2% to A$33.99, Santos 2% to A$6.97, Oil Search 3.8% to A$7.59 and Beach Energy 2% to A$0.99.
Shares of mining companies were mixed, with BHP Billiton down 1.2% to A$29.40 and Whitehaven Coal down 0.3% to A$1.54, while Rio Tinto gained 0.7% to A$57.70 and Fortescue Metals Group rose 0.5% to A$2.01 on the back of mild improvement for iron-ore prices. Gold miners Newcrest Mining rose 0.8% to A$12.53 and Perseus Mining jumped 7.8% to A$0.275 on tracking improvement for gold futures. Oz Minerals fell 1.9% to A$3.72 after it sold off its 19% stake in the copper miner for a small discount to their previous closing price.
Nikkei softens 8.19 points at close
Japanese share market closed marginal lower in light trade, as profit-taking set in after the benchmark index surging near 15-year high last. Also, risk sentiments muted on caution ahead of monetary policy decisions from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) tomorrow and the Federal Reserve meeting on late Tuesday for clues on the timeline for higher U.S. interest rates. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 8.19 points, or 0.04%, to close at 19246.06. The broader Topix index fell 2.12 points, or 0.14%, to 1558.21.
The BOJ is expected to maintain its pace of quantitative easing, but the central bank may be forced to increase its already massive stimulus package later in the year to achieve its 2% inflation target.
Shares of financial players were broadly higher, amid expectation of no major policy change in Bank of Japan monetary policy meeting. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc rose 0.9% to 797 yen, Mizuho Financial Group Inc 0.4% to 223.20 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc 1.6% to 4858.50 yen.
Exporters were mostly down on profit taking as the Japanese yen little changed against the U.S. dollar (which was buying 121.39 yen).Toshiba Corp fell 0.6% to 476.20 yen, Sharp Corp lost 2.1% to 237 yen, and Hitachi shed 1.2% to 801 yen, while Kyocera Corp added 0.9% to 6268 yen. Honda Motor Co shed 0.1% to 4133 yen in spite of report updating progress on the HondaJet, which a Honda executive described the "luxury sports car" of small passenger jets.
Shares of Nintendo Co advanced 1.4% to 13885 yen after NPD data out at the end of last week showed U.S. revenue from its portable 3Ds device more than doubling in February. But rival Sony Corp declined 3.8% to 3102 yen, as NPD reported a 5% drop last month in PlayStation, Xbox and other gaming consoles. Auto stocks were mixed.
China market jumps 2.26% on rising stimulus bets
Mainland China share market advanced for fourth straight session on the speculation of further stimulus measures from Beijing, after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's statement on Sunday that the government has room, as well as the tools, to step in if economic growth, targeted at about 7% for 2015, drifts toward the lower limit of its range and affect employment. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 76.39 points, or 2.26%, to 3449.30. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, rose 8.01 points, or 2.43%, to 3705.67.
All ten SSE industry groups advanced, with information technology issue leading the rally, up 4.2%, followed by healthcare (up 2.7%), consumer discretionary (up 2.7%), consumer staples (up 2.7%), telecommunication services (up 2.6%), materials (up 2.6%), financial (up 2.4%), utilities (2.2%), industrials (up 2%), and energy (up 1.4%).
Shares of technology companies advanced the most in Beijing after Premier Li Keqiang encouraged the development of e-commerce. Hundsun Technologies Inc. surged 9.2% to 98.15 yuan and Glodon Software Co. jumped by the 10% maximum to 37.74 yuan.
Hong Kong market jumps 0.53% on stimulus hopes from Beijing
Hong Kong share market finished the session with gain, on tracking cues from Mainland A-share market, which rose on the prospect of further stimulus measures from Beijing. But, gains on the indices were limited amid growing concerns about the timing and pace of the Federal Reserve's rate increases and the implications for the global market. The Hang Seng Index advanced 126.34 points, or 0.53%, to close at 23949.55, off an intra-day high of 23970.05 and day low of 23711.27. Turnover reduced slightly to HK$73.16 billion from HK$73.7 billion on Friday.
Chinese securities players soared on the A-share market in late trade. Hong Kong-listed securities counters were mostly higher. Guotai Junan (01788) put on 5.4% to HK$6.21. CGS (06881) gained 4.4% to HK$8.31. Haitong Sec (06837) added 2.5%, while CC Securities (01375) rose 3%.
Energy stocks closed mostly lower on the back of falling international crude prices, with PetroChina Co down by 0.4% to HK$8.20 while China Petroleum & Chemical Corp fell 0.2% to HK$6.15 and Cnooc shed 0.6% to HK$10.26. But Sino Oil & Gas Holdings grew 4% to HK$0.18 as the mainland Chinese oil and gas explorer tipped a swing to profit for last year.
China Life Insurance Co advanced 2.2% to HK$31.95 after it reported a 13% jump in its premium revenues to about Rmb114.9 billion for the first two months of this year.
Wharf Holdings declined 3.3% to HK$50.70 after property-focused Hong Kong conglomerate posting a 22% gain in 2014 net profit but a 7% drop in underlying core profit.
The Wharf net profit rose 22.3% to HK$35,930 million for the year ended 31 December 2014. The revenue amounted to HK$38,136 million, an increase of 19.6% from a year earlier. Operating profit grew year-on-year 7.6% to HK$14,283 million. Underlying core profit for the year was HK$10,474 million, down 7.3% year-on-year.
China Saite Group Co declined 9.2% to HK$0.69 after slashing its year-end dividend. China Saite net profit rose 5.3% to Rmb309.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2014. The revenue was Rmb1,660 million, an increase of 16.3% from a year earlier. The average gross profit margin dropped to 29.8% from 33.7%.The proposed final dividend is Rmb1.93 cents (2013: Rmb5.5 cents) per share, payable on or about 30 June.
Sensex, Nifty in red
Indian stock market was lower in the afternoon trade session as metal, oil and gas and capital goods stocks plunged. At 14:45 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 21 points or 0.1% at 28523. The CNX Nifty was down 8.40 points or 0.1% at 8639.
Telecom stocks declined after the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology said in a statement issued at the end of the 10th day of bidding for spectrum on Saturday, 14 March 2015, that about 87% of the spectrum has been provisionally allocated to bidders at a value of approximately Rs 1.02 lakh crore.
The latest data showed that annual rate of inflation based on monthly whole price index (WPI) remained in negative zone last month. Meanwhile, data released by the government after trading hours on Friday, 13 March 2015, showed that India's merchandise exports dipped 15% to $21.55 billion in February 2015 compared with a year ago period.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde reportedly said in New Delhi today, 16 March 2015, that India's economy is bright spot in a cloudy global economy and that recent policy reforms and improved business confidence are set to boost India's growth.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 66.98 crore during the previous trading session on Friday, 13 March 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 71.55 crore on Friday, 13 March 2015, as per provisional data.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: South Korea KOSPI rose 0.08% to 1987.33. Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.7% to 9512.91. New Zealand NZX50 was up 0.05% to 5911.40. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index added 0.4% to 5446.57. Singapore's Straits Times index grew 0.44% at 3377.64. Malaysia's KLCI slipped 0.1% to 1780.54.
