Asia Pacific share market advanced on Thursday, 16 July 2015, after
lawmakers in Greece voted in favour of new austerity measures needed to
secure fresh rescue funds and to prevent the country from exiting the
eurozone. However, gains on the upside capped after the Fed chief
indicated that U.S. interest rates could start rising later this year.
Investors risk sentiments boosted up after lawmakers in Greece voted in favour of a bailout deal to prevent the country from exiting the eurozone. In a late-night vote, the Greek parliament passed a sweeping bundle of austerity measures, a prerequisite for 86 billion euros ($95 billion) in loans for the next three years from the eurozone and International Monetary Fund. The austerity measures call for steep spending cuts, market reforms and tax increases.
In her semi-annual testimony to Congress yesterday, 15 July 2015, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen repeated her view that the Fed will likely hike interest rates this year if the US economy expands as expected, and cited improvement in the labor market. However she also said rates will remain at very low levels "for quite some time after the first increase." Years of easy credit has boosted global stock markets but the looming possibility of a rate hike is tempting investors to pull out of shares.
Focus will now shift to Eurozone finance ministers who will hold a conference call later today, with President Mario Draghi likely to face questions on a decision on Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) for Greece. The ELA is a program of emergency loans for Greek lenders to keep them solvent. Meanwhile, EU is consider to provide a EUR 7 billion bridge financing to Greece that will cover a EUR 3.5 billion payment to ECB due on July 20. Another focus is today's ECB meeting, where the central bank is widely expected to keep policies unchanged.
Among Asian bourses
Australia market extends gain
The Australian share market ended higher for third straight day on receding concerns about Greece after Greek parliament approved austerity deal, with banking shares leading the gain offsetting losses for some of mining and energy names. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index added 33.40 points, or 0.59%, to 5669.60, while the broader All Ordinaries Index surged 30.80 points, or 0.55%, to 5649.80.
Shares of banks and financial companies were top performer in the Sydney market. Among blue-chip lenders, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group added 0.7% to A$32.64, Westpac Banking Corp 1.9% to A$34.63, National Australia Bank 1.6% to A$34.32, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia 1% to A$87.96. Bourse operator ASX jumped 1.5% to A$43.18 as Morgan Stanley said the company was unlikely to lose its monopoly over cash equities clearing.
Shares of mining companies were also higher, with Rio Tinto rising 0.4% to A$53.31 after posting quarterly gains in iron-ore and bauxite output, but a drop for copper and cut to its production outlook. Shares of BHP Billiton rallied 0.7% to A$27.08. Fortescue Metals Group declined 1.4% to A$1.75.
Energy stocks suffered heavy losses, with Woodside Petroleum falling 1.1% to A$34.57 after reporting quarterly revenue almost 47% lower than the year-earlier period, while a pullback for crude oil dragged Origin Energy 1.8% lower at A$11.24 and Santos 1.4% down at A$7.72.
Japan market rally gains steam
Japanese share market advanced for fourth straight session, as concerns about Greece receded after Greek lawmakers approved an austerity bill needed for another bailout. Sentiment locally received a further boost from the yen weakening against a basket of major currencies. However, gains on the upside capped after the Fed chief indicated that U.S. interest rates could start rising later this year. The Nikkei Stock Average rallied 136.79 points, or 0.67%, to end at 20600.12 points. The broader Topix index rose 0.88%, or 14.42 points, to close at 1660.83 points.
Financials were higher, after Greece approved new austerity measures needed to secure fresh rescue funds, with Mizuho Financial Group Inc rising 1.2%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc gaining 0.9%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc adding 1%.
Export-related stocks mostly advanced after yen depreciated against greenback, with the dollar last quoted at 123.87 yen, down 0.1% after falling 0.3% on Wednesday. TDK Corp added 1.6%, Kyocera Corp 0.5%, Sony Corp 0.7%, and Toyota Motor Corp 1.9%. However, Nissan Motor Co sank 1.2% on reports that the auto maker was recalling approximately 270,000 vehicles globally due to issues with the ignition.
Energy players were lower, on tracking a heavy drop for crude-oil futures, with Japan Petroleum Exploration Co down by 1.2%, Inpex Corp off 1.5%, and Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. down 0.3%.
Alps Electric Co. gained 6.5%, after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its price target on the stock by 12% and reiterated its buy rating.
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. jumped 5.3% after saying it's considering merging its three units Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Mitsubishi Plastics and Mitsubishi Rayon into one company.
China stocks rebound for first time in three days
Mainland China's stock market rebounded from early losses to finish higher for the first time in three straight days in a volatile session. Sentiment locally received a boost from better-than-expected economic data in the second quarter. Volatility increased as hundreds of companies resume trading and the government maintains measures to support the stock market. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 17.47 points, or 0.46%, to finish at 3823.18 points, off an intraday loss of as much as 3.1%. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, added 1.34%, or 27.67 points, to 2086.52 points.
China's economy grew by 7% in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous three months, but better than market expectations, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. The country's gross domestic product for the first half of the year was 29.7 trillion yuan (US$4.8 trillion), up 7% year on year. Economic growth in the first half was mostly driven by the service sector, which gained 8.4% to 14.7 trillion yuan, while manufacturing added 6.1% to 12.96 trillion yuan and agriculture rose 3.5% to 2.02 trillion yuan. Industrial production increased 6.3% in the first half, with factories reporting a third straight month of faster growth in June, when output increased by 6.8%.
Fixed-asset investment grew 11.4% to 23.7 trillion yuan in the first half, slowing from 13.5% growth in the first three months. Capital flowing into the property sector rose 4.6%, which was far slower than the first-quarter expansion of 8.5%. Retail sales accelerated 10.4% in the first six months to 14.15 trillion yuan, up from 10.2% in the January-March period.
Almost all SSE sectoral index ended higher, exception being financial (down 1.2%), with industrial issue was top gainer (up 2.8%), followed by healthcare (up 2.7%), material (up 2%), utilities (up 1.9%), consumer staples (up 1.7%), consumer discretionary (up 1.4%), telecommunication services (up 1%), information technology (up 0.6%), and energy (up 0.1%).
The Ministry of Finance said in report on Wednesday that China's fiscal revenue rose 13.9% year on year to 1.53 trillion yuan (US$246 billion) in June 2015, lifting the first-half revenue by 6.6% to 7.96 trillion yuan. The revenue gain last month was contributed by taxes paid by companies which posted stronger earnings, and a warmer property market, the monthly report said. Property-related tax income climbed 3.7% in June from a year earlier, its first annual increase this year. Domestic consumption tax surged 31.4% year on year to 86.1 billion yuan, while corporate income tax rose 17.5% to 274 billion yuan.
Hong Kong market gains 0.43%
The Hong Kong stock market ended higher in quiet trading, on the back of Greek parliament approval for an austerity bill and rebound in Mainland China markets. The Hang Seng Index added 107.02 points, or 0.43%, to finish at 25162.78 points, off an intra-day low of 24841.14. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, benchmark measure of performance of mainland China enterprises, gained 67.88 points, or 0.58%, to 11749.08 points. Turnover reduced to HK$91.6 billion from HK$104.6 billion on Wednesday.
Shares of Hong Kong market heavyweights staged rebound by late trade on tracking bounce in the Mainland A-share market. HSBC (00005) rose 1.4% to HK$69.9. HKEx (00388) put on 1.75% to HK$232. China Mobile (00941) edged up 0.3% to HK$97.55. Tencent (00700) was flat at HK$150.
Insurers were higher, with PICC P&C (02328) gaining 2% to HK$15.96 and Ping An (02318) adding 1.5% to HK$95.4. China Life (02628) rose 1.3% to HK$31.15 after the insurer said it disposed of 30 million A-shares of CITIC Sec (06030) on 10 July. CITIC Sec inched down 0.2% to HK$22.3.
Aviation stocks were also higher, with China Sothern Airlines (01055) rising 3.8% to HK$8.29. Cathay Pacific (00293) added 1.5% to HK$19.18. China Eastern Airlines (00670) soared 9.4% to HK$6.4 after issuing positive profit alert. China Eastern Airlines (00670) said it expects net profit attributable to the equity holders for the first half of 2015 to be Rmb3.5 billion to Rmb3.7 billion, citing benefiting from the factors such as continual low international crude oil prices, the adjustment of China's economic structure and consumption upgrade of residents.
The volume of Hong Kong's re-exports of goods dropped 6.1% in May from a year earlier, while that of domestic exports fell 18.4%. Taken together, the volume of total exports and imports of goods declined 6.3% and 5%, according to the Census and Statistics Department. Comparing the first five months of 2015 with the same period in 2014, the volume of Hong Kong's re-exports of goods dipped 0.5%, while that of domestic exports fell 11.7%. Taken together, the volume of total exports and imports of goods slid 0.7% and 0.9%.
Indian stocks trade higher
Indian stock market extended intraday gain in mid-afternoon trade, after Greece's parliament approved tough austerity measures needed for the country to receive financial aid. At 14:16 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 206.17 points or 0.73% at 28,404.46. The CNX Nifty was up 79.75 points or 0.94% at 8,603.55.
Meanwhile, Union Cabinet today, gave its approval to review the existing foreign direct investment (FDI) policy on various sectors provided in the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular 2014, as amended by the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular 2015, by introducing composite caps for simplification of FDI policy to attract foreign investments.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 407.69 crore yesterday, 15 July 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 50.38 crore yesterday, 15 July 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Meanwhile, data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry after trading hours yesterday, 15 July 2015, showed that India's merchandise exports fell 15.82% to $22.29 billion in June 2015 over June 2014. Imports fell 13.4% to $33.11 billion in June 2015 over June 2014. Oil imports fell 34.97% to $8.67 billion in June 2015 over June 2014. Non-oil imports fell 1.85% to $24.44 billion in June 2015 over June 2014. The trade deficit declined to $10.82 billion in June 2015 from $11.76 billion in June 2014.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index fell 0.1% to 9042.21. South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.7% to 2087.89. New Zealand's NZX50 added 0.3% to 5824.15. Singapore's Straits Times index advanced 0.3% at 3350.23. Malaysia's KLCI ended 0.03% down at 1726.73.
Investors risk sentiments boosted up after lawmakers in Greece voted in favour of a bailout deal to prevent the country from exiting the eurozone. In a late-night vote, the Greek parliament passed a sweeping bundle of austerity measures, a prerequisite for 86 billion euros ($95 billion) in loans for the next three years from the eurozone and International Monetary Fund. The austerity measures call for steep spending cuts, market reforms and tax increases.
In her semi-annual testimony to Congress yesterday, 15 July 2015, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen repeated her view that the Fed will likely hike interest rates this year if the US economy expands as expected, and cited improvement in the labor market. However she also said rates will remain at very low levels "for quite some time after the first increase." Years of easy credit has boosted global stock markets but the looming possibility of a rate hike is tempting investors to pull out of shares.
Focus will now shift to Eurozone finance ministers who will hold a conference call later today, with President Mario Draghi likely to face questions on a decision on Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) for Greece. The ELA is a program of emergency loans for Greek lenders to keep them solvent. Meanwhile, EU is consider to provide a EUR 7 billion bridge financing to Greece that will cover a EUR 3.5 billion payment to ECB due on July 20. Another focus is today's ECB meeting, where the central bank is widely expected to keep policies unchanged.
Among Asian bourses
Australia market extends gain
The Australian share market ended higher for third straight day on receding concerns about Greece after Greek parliament approved austerity deal, with banking shares leading the gain offsetting losses for some of mining and energy names. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index added 33.40 points, or 0.59%, to 5669.60, while the broader All Ordinaries Index surged 30.80 points, or 0.55%, to 5649.80.
Shares of banks and financial companies were top performer in the Sydney market. Among blue-chip lenders, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group added 0.7% to A$32.64, Westpac Banking Corp 1.9% to A$34.63, National Australia Bank 1.6% to A$34.32, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia 1% to A$87.96. Bourse operator ASX jumped 1.5% to A$43.18 as Morgan Stanley said the company was unlikely to lose its monopoly over cash equities clearing.
Shares of mining companies were also higher, with Rio Tinto rising 0.4% to A$53.31 after posting quarterly gains in iron-ore and bauxite output, but a drop for copper and cut to its production outlook. Shares of BHP Billiton rallied 0.7% to A$27.08. Fortescue Metals Group declined 1.4% to A$1.75.
Energy stocks suffered heavy losses, with Woodside Petroleum falling 1.1% to A$34.57 after reporting quarterly revenue almost 47% lower than the year-earlier period, while a pullback for crude oil dragged Origin Energy 1.8% lower at A$11.24 and Santos 1.4% down at A$7.72.
Japan market rally gains steam
Japanese share market advanced for fourth straight session, as concerns about Greece receded after Greek lawmakers approved an austerity bill needed for another bailout. Sentiment locally received a further boost from the yen weakening against a basket of major currencies. However, gains on the upside capped after the Fed chief indicated that U.S. interest rates could start rising later this year. The Nikkei Stock Average rallied 136.79 points, or 0.67%, to end at 20600.12 points. The broader Topix index rose 0.88%, or 14.42 points, to close at 1660.83 points.
Financials were higher, after Greece approved new austerity measures needed to secure fresh rescue funds, with Mizuho Financial Group Inc rising 1.2%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc gaining 0.9%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc adding 1%.
Export-related stocks mostly advanced after yen depreciated against greenback, with the dollar last quoted at 123.87 yen, down 0.1% after falling 0.3% on Wednesday. TDK Corp added 1.6%, Kyocera Corp 0.5%, Sony Corp 0.7%, and Toyota Motor Corp 1.9%. However, Nissan Motor Co sank 1.2% on reports that the auto maker was recalling approximately 270,000 vehicles globally due to issues with the ignition.
Energy players were lower, on tracking a heavy drop for crude-oil futures, with Japan Petroleum Exploration Co down by 1.2%, Inpex Corp off 1.5%, and Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. down 0.3%.
Alps Electric Co. gained 6.5%, after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its price target on the stock by 12% and reiterated its buy rating.
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. jumped 5.3% after saying it's considering merging its three units Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Mitsubishi Plastics and Mitsubishi Rayon into one company.
China stocks rebound for first time in three days
Mainland China's stock market rebounded from early losses to finish higher for the first time in three straight days in a volatile session. Sentiment locally received a boost from better-than-expected economic data in the second quarter. Volatility increased as hundreds of companies resume trading and the government maintains measures to support the stock market. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 17.47 points, or 0.46%, to finish at 3823.18 points, off an intraday loss of as much as 3.1%. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, added 1.34%, or 27.67 points, to 2086.52 points.
China's economy grew by 7% in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous three months, but better than market expectations, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. The country's gross domestic product for the first half of the year was 29.7 trillion yuan (US$4.8 trillion), up 7% year on year. Economic growth in the first half was mostly driven by the service sector, which gained 8.4% to 14.7 trillion yuan, while manufacturing added 6.1% to 12.96 trillion yuan and agriculture rose 3.5% to 2.02 trillion yuan. Industrial production increased 6.3% in the first half, with factories reporting a third straight month of faster growth in June, when output increased by 6.8%.
Fixed-asset investment grew 11.4% to 23.7 trillion yuan in the first half, slowing from 13.5% growth in the first three months. Capital flowing into the property sector rose 4.6%, which was far slower than the first-quarter expansion of 8.5%. Retail sales accelerated 10.4% in the first six months to 14.15 trillion yuan, up from 10.2% in the January-March period.
Almost all SSE sectoral index ended higher, exception being financial (down 1.2%), with industrial issue was top gainer (up 2.8%), followed by healthcare (up 2.7%), material (up 2%), utilities (up 1.9%), consumer staples (up 1.7%), consumer discretionary (up 1.4%), telecommunication services (up 1%), information technology (up 0.6%), and energy (up 0.1%).
The Ministry of Finance said in report on Wednesday that China's fiscal revenue rose 13.9% year on year to 1.53 trillion yuan (US$246 billion) in June 2015, lifting the first-half revenue by 6.6% to 7.96 trillion yuan. The revenue gain last month was contributed by taxes paid by companies which posted stronger earnings, and a warmer property market, the monthly report said. Property-related tax income climbed 3.7% in June from a year earlier, its first annual increase this year. Domestic consumption tax surged 31.4% year on year to 86.1 billion yuan, while corporate income tax rose 17.5% to 274 billion yuan.
Hong Kong market gains 0.43%
The Hong Kong stock market ended higher in quiet trading, on the back of Greek parliament approval for an austerity bill and rebound in Mainland China markets. The Hang Seng Index added 107.02 points, or 0.43%, to finish at 25162.78 points, off an intra-day low of 24841.14. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, benchmark measure of performance of mainland China enterprises, gained 67.88 points, or 0.58%, to 11749.08 points. Turnover reduced to HK$91.6 billion from HK$104.6 billion on Wednesday.
Shares of Hong Kong market heavyweights staged rebound by late trade on tracking bounce in the Mainland A-share market. HSBC (00005) rose 1.4% to HK$69.9. HKEx (00388) put on 1.75% to HK$232. China Mobile (00941) edged up 0.3% to HK$97.55. Tencent (00700) was flat at HK$150.
Insurers were higher, with PICC P&C (02328) gaining 2% to HK$15.96 and Ping An (02318) adding 1.5% to HK$95.4. China Life (02628) rose 1.3% to HK$31.15 after the insurer said it disposed of 30 million A-shares of CITIC Sec (06030) on 10 July. CITIC Sec inched down 0.2% to HK$22.3.
Aviation stocks were also higher, with China Sothern Airlines (01055) rising 3.8% to HK$8.29. Cathay Pacific (00293) added 1.5% to HK$19.18. China Eastern Airlines (00670) soared 9.4% to HK$6.4 after issuing positive profit alert. China Eastern Airlines (00670) said it expects net profit attributable to the equity holders for the first half of 2015 to be Rmb3.5 billion to Rmb3.7 billion, citing benefiting from the factors such as continual low international crude oil prices, the adjustment of China's economic structure and consumption upgrade of residents.
The volume of Hong Kong's re-exports of goods dropped 6.1% in May from a year earlier, while that of domestic exports fell 18.4%. Taken together, the volume of total exports and imports of goods declined 6.3% and 5%, according to the Census and Statistics Department. Comparing the first five months of 2015 with the same period in 2014, the volume of Hong Kong's re-exports of goods dipped 0.5%, while that of domestic exports fell 11.7%. Taken together, the volume of total exports and imports of goods slid 0.7% and 0.9%.
Indian stocks trade higher
Indian stock market extended intraday gain in mid-afternoon trade, after Greece's parliament approved tough austerity measures needed for the country to receive financial aid. At 14:16 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 206.17 points or 0.73% at 28,404.46. The CNX Nifty was up 79.75 points or 0.94% at 8,603.55.
Meanwhile, Union Cabinet today, gave its approval to review the existing foreign direct investment (FDI) policy on various sectors provided in the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular 2014, as amended by the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular 2015, by introducing composite caps for simplification of FDI policy to attract foreign investments.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 407.69 crore yesterday, 15 July 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 50.38 crore yesterday, 15 July 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Meanwhile, data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry after trading hours yesterday, 15 July 2015, showed that India's merchandise exports fell 15.82% to $22.29 billion in June 2015 over June 2014. Imports fell 13.4% to $33.11 billion in June 2015 over June 2014. Oil imports fell 34.97% to $8.67 billion in June 2015 over June 2014. Non-oil imports fell 1.85% to $24.44 billion in June 2015 over June 2014. The trade deficit declined to $10.82 billion in June 2015 from $11.76 billion in June 2014.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index fell 0.1% to 9042.21. South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.7% to 2087.89. New Zealand's NZX50 added 0.3% to 5824.15. Singapore's Straits Times index advanced 0.3% at 3350.23. Malaysia's KLCI ended 0.03% down at 1726.73.
