Most Asian stock exchanges trading higher
Most Asian stock exchanges trading higher
HONG KONG (Reuter): Tokyo stocks benefited yesterday from an economic report that eased fears of an imminent interest rate rise and most other Asian bourses also ended higher.
Only Singapore was down while Bangkok and Seoul were closed for holidays.
Manila stocks were the star performers, the key index adding 2.27 percent, and Taiwan's market was up 1.66 percent on bargain- hunting.
Tokyo stocks ended modestly higher after the Bank of Japan's quarterly "Tankan" survey of corporate sentiment, which showed a weaker economy than many investors had expected, eased worries about a rise in market interest rates.
"Although uncertainties remain -- the yen and Japan's scheme to wind up the mortgage firms -- interest rate worries were certainly lifted," said Shunji Suesada, general manager at Yamaichi Securities. He said the market was now likely to return to a steady rising trend.
The Nikkei average ended up 43.26 points, or 0.21 percent, at 20,168.63. On Wednesday it closed at 19,919.97, below 20,000 for the first time this year.
Manila shares soared on the back of telecommunications giant PLDT's overnight rise on Wall Street and posted the second biggest gain since the start of the year, brokers said. The index rose 65.58 points, or 2.27 percent, to settle at 2,948.18.
"PLDT's rise triggered a rebound in blue chips. The index will next test 2,950 and hopefully this time, we'll break it," Jennifer Pe at Kerry Securities said.
Hong Kong stocks ended moderately higher in thin trade, closely tracking index futures moves. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index jumped 69.26 points, or 0.62 percent, to 11,194.94.
"Trade is actually quite mixed and buying is highly selective, with banks leading the gainers. All eyes are on unusually firm futures, which is mainly why the market's up," said Samuel Ho of Seapower Securities.
Taiwan stocks finished higher across the board on bargain buying after the market's previous losses and in the absence of fresh developments on an expected Chinese military exercise.
The cabinet's approval for lifting of the ceiling on foreign investment to 20 percent of stock market capitalization from 15 percent and the entry of a government-promoted fund also boosted overall sentiment.
The weighted index soared 79.71 points, or 1.66 percent, to end at 4,877.38.
The Australian share market ended higher in active trade as investors backed an opposition coalition win in Saturday's election. At the close, the All Ordinaries index was 23.0 points higher, up 1 percent at 2,313.0.
Singapore shares were weaker with investors switching their focus to Malaysian second-liners traded over the counter. The Straits Times Industrial index ended down 17.08 points, or 0.70 percent, to 2,421.43.
In London share prices here rose early yesterday, driven by healthy bonds and German bunds and rumours of future cuts in British interest rates, dealers said.
The FT-SE 100 index of leading shares rose by 19.5 points to 3747.1.
London dealers said that a rally in the bond market was strong enough to counter sharp overnight falls on Wall Street, adding that weak economic activity was revealed by a purchasing managers survey on Friday had sparked rumours of fresh cuts in British interest rates.
In Paris, the CAC-40 index opened 13.71 points higher at 2,004.48.