Asia Pacific share market closed weaker on Wednesday, 15 April 2015,
after data earlier in the day showed China's economy grew at its slowest
pace in nearly six years in the first quarter while both retail sales
and industrial output missed forecasts, with the latter expanding at the
slowest pace since the global financial crisis in 2008.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of China said on Wednesday that GDP rose 7% y/y in the first quarter ended March 2015, marking a slowdown from 7.3% in the fourth quarter and its weakest quarterly growth rate since the first quarter of 2009. Separately, NBS said that retail sales grew 10.2% in March from a year earlier, down from 10.7% in the January-February period and an annual rise of 12% in 2014. Also, Value-added industrial output in China rose 5.6% in March from a year earlier, slowing from 6.8% growth in the combined January-February period, data from the NBS showed. Fixed-asset investment in the non-rural areas of China climbed 13.5% from a year earlier in the January-March period, compared with an increase of 13.9% for the first two months of the year.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) that global growth prospects are uneven across major economies. In advanced economies, growth is projected to strengthen in 2015 relative to 2014, but in emerging market and developing economies it is expected to be weaker, the IMF said yesterday, 14 April 2015. Overall, global growth is forecast at 3.5% in 2015 and 3.8% in 2016. IMF said that risks to global growth are now more balanced relative to six months ago, but remain tilted to the downside. Macroeconomic risks have slightly decreased (e.g., recession and deflation in euro area), but financial and geopolitical risks have increased, the IMF said. On the upside, the decline in oil prices could provide a greater boost to global growth than anticipated.
IMF Economic Counsellor and Director of Research Olivier Blanchard said that a number of complex forces are shaping the prospects around the world. Legacies of both the financial and the euro area crises—weak banks and high levels of public, corporate, and household debt—are still weighing on spending and growth in some countries. Low growth in turn makes deleveraging a slow process. Global growth in 2015 will be driven by a rebound in advanced economies—forecast to increase from 1.8% last year to 2.4% this year—supported by the decline in oil prices, the WEO notes. Growth forecasts for most emerging and developing economies (with the important exception of India) are slightly worse.
Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization (WTO) yesterday, 14 April 2015, said that growth in the volume of world merchandise trade will pick up only slightly over the next two years, rising from 2.8% in 2014 to 3.3% in 2015 and eventually to 4% in 2016. Numerous downside risks to the forecast exist including geopolitical tensions, divergent monetary policies, exchange rate fluctuations and slower growth in emerging economies, the WTO said in a press release. Trade growth averaged just 2.4% between 2012 and 2014, the slowest rate on record for a three year period when trade was expanding (i.e. excluding years like 1975 and 2009 when world trade actually declined). Asia should have the strongest export performance of any region this year with 5% growth, followed closely by North America with 4.5% growth, according to the WTO's projections.
Among Asian bourses
Retailers, lenders weigh down Australia market
The Australian share market declined, with losses in retailers, tech, utilities, financials and consumer goods were more than offset by gains in mining and energy players. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 8.10 points, or 0.14%, to 5960.30, while the broader All Ordinaries Index fell 38.20 points, or 0.64%, to 5908.40. Market turnover was healthy, with 1.77 billion shares changing hands worth of A$5.16 billion. Rising stocks under-performed declining ones, with total of 590 stocks up, while 753 stocks down.
Shares of consumer goods and retailers declined the most in Australian Stock Exchange after Westpac's monthly consumer-confidence survey registered a more-than-3% drop. JB Hi-Fi shares dropped 2.5% to A$18.97, Myer Holdings 2.9% to A$1.37, Harvey Norman Holdings 0.7% to A$4.35, and Billabong International 2.7% to A$0.55.
Financial stocks also declined, with top four lenders leading retreat. Commonwealth Bank fell 1.5% to A$92.44, ANZ Banking Group 1.2% to A$35.90, Westpac Banking Corp 1.8% to A$38.845 and National Australia Bank 1.3% to A$38.93.
Shares of materials and energy companies rebounded, on the back of gain in commodity prices. Among miners, resource heavyweight BHP Billiton added 1.4% to A$29.52 and Rio Tinto jumped 1.6% to A$55.84. Australia's third largest iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group rose 0.8% to A$1.85. Gold producer Newcrest Mining closed 0.9% down at A$14.27. Among energy counter, Woodside Petroleum added 0.3% to A$35.35, Santos jumped 0.9% to A$7.76, and origin Energy rose 2.3% to A$12.40.
Fairfax Media advanced 1% to A$1.02, extending its rally into a second day after Credit Suisse named the company as among its top stock picks.
Nikkei falls 0.2% on strong yen
Japanese share market finished the session lower, as profit booking triggered amid yen appreciation against the US dollar and weaker than expected China economic data. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 38.92 points, or 0.2%, to finish at 19869.76, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares declined 2.01 points, or 0.13%, to 1588.81.
Exporters were mostly lower, with tech players leading the retreat. Tokyo Electron fell 0.9%, Hitachi 1% and Fujitsu 1.5%. Advantest Corp slipped 1.3% and Trend Micro Inc lost 1.5%.
Obayashi Corp jumped 3.6% after raising forecasts for its fiscal-year net profit and dividend a day earlier.
JGC Corp., a builder of factories and other industrial facilities, lost 6.6% after cutting its dividend and reporting profit that missed forecasts.
Best Denki Co. dropped 5.7% after the maker of home appliances reported operating profit that missed its forecast.
Aderans Co. slumped 13%, the most since March 2011, to lead declines on the Topix. The beauty-salon owner reported a 20% decline in operating profit.
Japan Airlines Co. surged 5.1% after Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its price target on the carrier.
Shanghai Composite dips 1.24% after weak GDP data
Mainland China equity market finished the volatile session lower, as investors opted for withdrawing some profit of the table after a slew of weak economic data. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 51.40 points, or 1.24% to 4084.16 at the close. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, dropped 57.67 points, or 1.3%, to 4380.51. The benchmark gauge doubled since January 2014 amid government efforts to support growth and encourage a greater role for markets.
Barring industrial, all SSE industry groups declined, with information technology issue leading the retreat, with a loss of 4.8%, followed by consumer staple issue which ended 3.6% down. Meanwhile, telecommunication services sector fell 3.6%, healthcare 3.1%, utilities 3%, consumer discretionary 2.9%, materials 2.8%, energy 1.9%, and financial 0.1%.
Shares of online education and medical equipment sectors suffered great losses in Beijing. Nanjing-based Focus Technology Co, Beijing Lanxum Technology Co, and Andon Health Co fell by the daily limit of 10%. Shanghai Conat Optics Co dived 7.57% to 16.72 yuan.
The railway construction sector made strong gains. China's top train makers CSR Corp. and CNR Corp. both rose by the daily limit of 10%.
Hang Seng ups 0.21%
Hong Kong stock market ended higher in volatile trade on Wednesday, 15 April 2015, amid reports that Chinese and Hong Kong are considering loosening rules that have blocked small mainland investors from putting their cash in the Hong Kong stock market. But the gains were capped after data showed China's economic growth declined to a six-year low in the first quarter. The benchmark index opened 131 points higher and rose up to 246 points, but failed to hold momentum after China's weak GDP data. The Hang Seng Index recovered 57.33 points, or 0.21% to 27618.82, after retreating on Tuesday from a seven-year high of 28,016.34. Turnover reduced to HK$216.15 billion from HK$237.6 billion on Tuesday.
Shares of Chinese banks were up after China's new loan for March came in better than expectations. ICBC (01398) was the star, rising 4.9% to HK$6.91. CCB (00939) ascended 4.4% to HK$7.84. BOC (03988) gained 3.6% to HK$5.53. ABC (01288) added 3.5% to HK$4.44.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang yesterday called for lowering telecom traffic tariffs in an economic meeting. China Mobile (00941) fell 2.6% to HK$106.4. But China Unicom (00762) and China Telecom (00728) rose 1.5% and 1% to HK$13.76 and HK$5.68 respectively.
Macau gaming counters were lower after Citi Research cut its GGR forecast for April. Galaxy Ent (00027) dipped 2% to HK$36.55. Sands China (01928) slipped 2.5% to HK$33.6. MGM China (02282) plunged 5.7% to HK$14.82.
Alibaba Health Information Technology spurted 80.8% to HK$12.26 after parent Alibaba Group Holding said it would transfer its Tmall online-pharmacy business to Alibaba Health in exchange for $2.5 billion worth of shares and convertible debt.
Sensex falls below 29,000 level
Indian stock market closed down, breaking the seven-day winning streak on profit-booking in the late trade. As per provisional closing, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 288.37 points or 0.99% at 28,756.07. The CNX Nifty was down 83.80 points or 0.95% at 8,750.20. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC rose. IT stocks declined after lower-than-expected US retail sales in March. PSU bank stocks rose in volatile trade. Private bank stocks were mixed.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 417.01 crore during the previous trading session on Monday, 13 April 2015, as per provisional data as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. The stock market was closed yesterday, 14 April 2015, for a holiday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 46.42 crore during the previous trading session on Monday, 13 April 2015, as per provisional data.
Data released by government today, 15 April 2015, showed that inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) remained in negative zone last month. The WPI data comes after data released by the government after trading hours on Monday, 13 April 2015, showed easing of consumer price inflation last month.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: South Korea KOSPI added 0.4% to 2119.96. Taiwan's Taiex fell 1.1% to 9540.06. New Zealand NZX50 was down 0.4% to 5856.08. Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.54% at 3539.95. Malaysia's KLCI slipped 0.1% to 18421.22. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index sank 0.1% to 5414.55.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of China said on Wednesday that GDP rose 7% y/y in the first quarter ended March 2015, marking a slowdown from 7.3% in the fourth quarter and its weakest quarterly growth rate since the first quarter of 2009. Separately, NBS said that retail sales grew 10.2% in March from a year earlier, down from 10.7% in the January-February period and an annual rise of 12% in 2014. Also, Value-added industrial output in China rose 5.6% in March from a year earlier, slowing from 6.8% growth in the combined January-February period, data from the NBS showed. Fixed-asset investment in the non-rural areas of China climbed 13.5% from a year earlier in the January-March period, compared with an increase of 13.9% for the first two months of the year.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) that global growth prospects are uneven across major economies. In advanced economies, growth is projected to strengthen in 2015 relative to 2014, but in emerging market and developing economies it is expected to be weaker, the IMF said yesterday, 14 April 2015. Overall, global growth is forecast at 3.5% in 2015 and 3.8% in 2016. IMF said that risks to global growth are now more balanced relative to six months ago, but remain tilted to the downside. Macroeconomic risks have slightly decreased (e.g., recession and deflation in euro area), but financial and geopolitical risks have increased, the IMF said. On the upside, the decline in oil prices could provide a greater boost to global growth than anticipated.
IMF Economic Counsellor and Director of Research Olivier Blanchard said that a number of complex forces are shaping the prospects around the world. Legacies of both the financial and the euro area crises—weak banks and high levels of public, corporate, and household debt—are still weighing on spending and growth in some countries. Low growth in turn makes deleveraging a slow process. Global growth in 2015 will be driven by a rebound in advanced economies—forecast to increase from 1.8% last year to 2.4% this year—supported by the decline in oil prices, the WEO notes. Growth forecasts for most emerging and developing economies (with the important exception of India) are slightly worse.
Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization (WTO) yesterday, 14 April 2015, said that growth in the volume of world merchandise trade will pick up only slightly over the next two years, rising from 2.8% in 2014 to 3.3% in 2015 and eventually to 4% in 2016. Numerous downside risks to the forecast exist including geopolitical tensions, divergent monetary policies, exchange rate fluctuations and slower growth in emerging economies, the WTO said in a press release. Trade growth averaged just 2.4% between 2012 and 2014, the slowest rate on record for a three year period when trade was expanding (i.e. excluding years like 1975 and 2009 when world trade actually declined). Asia should have the strongest export performance of any region this year with 5% growth, followed closely by North America with 4.5% growth, according to the WTO's projections.
Among Asian bourses
Retailers, lenders weigh down Australia market
The Australian share market declined, with losses in retailers, tech, utilities, financials and consumer goods were more than offset by gains in mining and energy players. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 8.10 points, or 0.14%, to 5960.30, while the broader All Ordinaries Index fell 38.20 points, or 0.64%, to 5908.40. Market turnover was healthy, with 1.77 billion shares changing hands worth of A$5.16 billion. Rising stocks under-performed declining ones, with total of 590 stocks up, while 753 stocks down.
Shares of consumer goods and retailers declined the most in Australian Stock Exchange after Westpac's monthly consumer-confidence survey registered a more-than-3% drop. JB Hi-Fi shares dropped 2.5% to A$18.97, Myer Holdings 2.9% to A$1.37, Harvey Norman Holdings 0.7% to A$4.35, and Billabong International 2.7% to A$0.55.
Financial stocks also declined, with top four lenders leading retreat. Commonwealth Bank fell 1.5% to A$92.44, ANZ Banking Group 1.2% to A$35.90, Westpac Banking Corp 1.8% to A$38.845 and National Australia Bank 1.3% to A$38.93.
Shares of materials and energy companies rebounded, on the back of gain in commodity prices. Among miners, resource heavyweight BHP Billiton added 1.4% to A$29.52 and Rio Tinto jumped 1.6% to A$55.84. Australia's third largest iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group rose 0.8% to A$1.85. Gold producer Newcrest Mining closed 0.9% down at A$14.27. Among energy counter, Woodside Petroleum added 0.3% to A$35.35, Santos jumped 0.9% to A$7.76, and origin Energy rose 2.3% to A$12.40.
Fairfax Media advanced 1% to A$1.02, extending its rally into a second day after Credit Suisse named the company as among its top stock picks.
Nikkei falls 0.2% on strong yen
Japanese share market finished the session lower, as profit booking triggered amid yen appreciation against the US dollar and weaker than expected China economic data. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 38.92 points, or 0.2%, to finish at 19869.76, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares declined 2.01 points, or 0.13%, to 1588.81.
Exporters were mostly lower, with tech players leading the retreat. Tokyo Electron fell 0.9%, Hitachi 1% and Fujitsu 1.5%. Advantest Corp slipped 1.3% and Trend Micro Inc lost 1.5%.
Obayashi Corp jumped 3.6% after raising forecasts for its fiscal-year net profit and dividend a day earlier.
JGC Corp., a builder of factories and other industrial facilities, lost 6.6% after cutting its dividend and reporting profit that missed forecasts.
Best Denki Co. dropped 5.7% after the maker of home appliances reported operating profit that missed its forecast.
Aderans Co. slumped 13%, the most since March 2011, to lead declines on the Topix. The beauty-salon owner reported a 20% decline in operating profit.
Japan Airlines Co. surged 5.1% after Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its price target on the carrier.
Shanghai Composite dips 1.24% after weak GDP data
Mainland China equity market finished the volatile session lower, as investors opted for withdrawing some profit of the table after a slew of weak economic data. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 51.40 points, or 1.24% to 4084.16 at the close. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, dropped 57.67 points, or 1.3%, to 4380.51. The benchmark gauge doubled since January 2014 amid government efforts to support growth and encourage a greater role for markets.
Barring industrial, all SSE industry groups declined, with information technology issue leading the retreat, with a loss of 4.8%, followed by consumer staple issue which ended 3.6% down. Meanwhile, telecommunication services sector fell 3.6%, healthcare 3.1%, utilities 3%, consumer discretionary 2.9%, materials 2.8%, energy 1.9%, and financial 0.1%.
Shares of online education and medical equipment sectors suffered great losses in Beijing. Nanjing-based Focus Technology Co, Beijing Lanxum Technology Co, and Andon Health Co fell by the daily limit of 10%. Shanghai Conat Optics Co dived 7.57% to 16.72 yuan.
The railway construction sector made strong gains. China's top train makers CSR Corp. and CNR Corp. both rose by the daily limit of 10%.
Hang Seng ups 0.21%
Hong Kong stock market ended higher in volatile trade on Wednesday, 15 April 2015, amid reports that Chinese and Hong Kong are considering loosening rules that have blocked small mainland investors from putting their cash in the Hong Kong stock market. But the gains were capped after data showed China's economic growth declined to a six-year low in the first quarter. The benchmark index opened 131 points higher and rose up to 246 points, but failed to hold momentum after China's weak GDP data. The Hang Seng Index recovered 57.33 points, or 0.21% to 27618.82, after retreating on Tuesday from a seven-year high of 28,016.34. Turnover reduced to HK$216.15 billion from HK$237.6 billion on Tuesday.
Shares of Chinese banks were up after China's new loan for March came in better than expectations. ICBC (01398) was the star, rising 4.9% to HK$6.91. CCB (00939) ascended 4.4% to HK$7.84. BOC (03988) gained 3.6% to HK$5.53. ABC (01288) added 3.5% to HK$4.44.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang yesterday called for lowering telecom traffic tariffs in an economic meeting. China Mobile (00941) fell 2.6% to HK$106.4. But China Unicom (00762) and China Telecom (00728) rose 1.5% and 1% to HK$13.76 and HK$5.68 respectively.
Macau gaming counters were lower after Citi Research cut its GGR forecast for April. Galaxy Ent (00027) dipped 2% to HK$36.55. Sands China (01928) slipped 2.5% to HK$33.6. MGM China (02282) plunged 5.7% to HK$14.82.
Alibaba Health Information Technology spurted 80.8% to HK$12.26 after parent Alibaba Group Holding said it would transfer its Tmall online-pharmacy business to Alibaba Health in exchange for $2.5 billion worth of shares and convertible debt.
Sensex falls below 29,000 level
Indian stock market closed down, breaking the seven-day winning streak on profit-booking in the late trade. As per provisional closing, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 288.37 points or 0.99% at 28,756.07. The CNX Nifty was down 83.80 points or 0.95% at 8,750.20. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC rose. IT stocks declined after lower-than-expected US retail sales in March. PSU bank stocks rose in volatile trade. Private bank stocks were mixed.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 417.01 crore during the previous trading session on Monday, 13 April 2015, as per provisional data as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. The stock market was closed yesterday, 14 April 2015, for a holiday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 46.42 crore during the previous trading session on Monday, 13 April 2015, as per provisional data.
Data released by government today, 15 April 2015, showed that inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) remained in negative zone last month. The WPI data comes after data released by the government after trading hours on Monday, 13 April 2015, showed easing of consumer price inflation last month.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: South Korea KOSPI added 0.4% to 2119.96. Taiwan's Taiex fell 1.1% to 9540.06. New Zealand NZX50 was down 0.4% to 5856.08. Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.54% at 3539.95. Malaysia's KLCI slipped 0.1% to 18421.22. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index sank 0.1% to 5414.55.
