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Asian Markets Extend Gains On Wall Street Cues

(RTTNews) - Major markets in Asia, excluding India and Indonesia, ended in positive territory for the second successive day on Tuesday taking cues from Wall Street where the major averages ended sharply higher on increasing optimism about sustaining recovery and return of risk appetite. However, the markets ended off the highs as profit taking in late session limited the gains. The markets in India and Indonesia ended in negative territory on profit taking.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index ended in positive territory with a gain of 61.74 points, or 0.6%, at 9871, and the broader Topix index of all First Section issues rose 1.77 points, or 0.2%, to 872.

On the economic front, the Ministry of Finance revealed that the country posted a current account surplus of 1.568 trillion yen in September, up 0.2% year-over-year. Analysts expected a current account surplus of 1.51 trillion yen for the month.

In a separate release, the Bank of Japan stated that overall bank lending rose 1.5% year-over-year in October, in line with analysts expectations. The report further noted that, excluding trusts, bank lending also rose 1.5% during October after the revised 1.6% increase in the previous month. Adjusted lending showed a 1.9% annual increase following the 2.3% gain a month earlier.

Banking stocks led the gains after Shizuka Kamei, Financial Services Minister, said that the Government is willing to tolerate, for a brief period, a drop in capital ratios of major domestic banks in order to ensure supply of adequate credit. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gained 2.65%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial surged up 3.59%, Resona Holdings edged up 0.10% and Mizuho Financial rose 1.12%.

Brokerage stocks also ended in positive territory, mostly due to short-covering. Nomura Holdings climbed 2.90%, Daiwa Securities added 0.88%, Matsui Securities advanced 0.81% and Mizuho Securities edged up 0.32%.

Trading companies also ended higher. Toyota Tsusho Corp advanced 2.37%, Itochu Corp. climbed 3.44%, Mitsui & Co. added 1.28%, Marubeni Corp gained 2.63% and Mitsubishi Corp. edged up 0.30%.

Mixed trading was witnessed among automotive stocks. Suzuki Motor gained 1.56%, Honda Motor added 0.71%, Nissan Motor advanced 1.71% and Hino Motors rose 0.91%. However, Toyota Motor lost 2.57%, Isuzu Motors slumped 4.15% and Mazda Motor slipped 0.47%.

Exporters also ended mixed. Canon gained 0.89%; Sony Corp gave up the early gains and remained unchanged from previous close, while Sharp Corp. shed 0.72%.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index rose 58.70 points, or 1.26% to close at 4,734, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,744, representing a gain of 57.50 points, or 1.23%.

On the economic front, a report released by the National Australia Bank revealed that the index measuring business confidence rose in October following a decline in the previous month. As per the report, the index measuring business confidence stood at 16 in October, up 2 points from September's reading of 14. Among the sub-indices, the index measuring business conditions rose sharply by 9 points to 12, the profit index climbed 9 points to 13 and the sales index gained 7 points to 15.

Light sweet crude oil futures for December delivery ended at $78.91 a barrel in electronic trading, down $0.52 per barrel from previous close at $79.43 a barrel in New York on Monday.

Banking stocks led the gains on increasing optimism about recovery. ANZ Bank, which revealed plans to offer convertible preference shares to raise $750 million in tier one capital, added 0.62%. Commonwealth Bank of Australia advanced 0.85%, National Australia Bank gained 1.79% and Westpac Banking rose 0.46%. Investment banking entity Macquarie Group climbed 1.00%.

Metals and mining stocks ended in positive territory following rise in commodity prices. BHP Billiton gained 2.34%, Rio Tinto rose 2.59%, Fortescue Metals surged up 3.33%, Gindalbie Metals added 0.55%, Iluka Resources climbed 2.92% and Oz Minerals increased 2.47%.

Oil stocks also advanced. Woodside Petroleum rose 1.65%, Santos advanced 1.24%, Oil Search added 0.50% and Origin Energy climbed 1.49%.

Mixed trading was witnessed among gold stocks after the price of bullion surpassed $1,100 in the bullion market. Sino Gold Mining soared 6.53% while Newcrest Mining slipped 0.42% and Lihir Gold shed 0.88% on profit taking.

Property stocks ended in positive territory. GPT Group advanced 1.65%, Mirvac Group surged up 4.26% and Stockland climbed 3.80%. However, Westfield Group bucked the trend and ended in negative territory with a loss of 1.38%.

Retail stocks also ended mixed. David Jones advanced 1.76%, Wesfarmers climbed 2.77% and Woolworths edged up 0.11%. However, Harvey Norman lost 1.87% and JB Hi-Fi shed 1.61% on profit taking.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended in positive territory with a gain of 60.61 points, or 0.27% at 22,268, taking cues from Wall Street as well as gains in mainland China. Thought the market ended at a 2-week high, profit taking at higher levels limited the gains. Property related stocks dragged the index lower as investors were concerned about higher valuation levels. Among the property stocks, Swire Pacific shed 2.90% and SHK property lost 1.95%. Among insurance firms, FIH was a major loser having declined 4.24%. Telecom stocks ended higher with Tencent gaining 3.10%.

In South Korea, the KOSPI Index ended in the green with a marginal gain of 5.51 points, or 0.35% to 1,582, taking cues from Wall Street where the major indices rose sharply on optimism about sustaining recovery and risk appetite returns back. Reports of a naval clash between the two Koreas off the west coast had little or no impact on the market as geopolitical risks have already been factored in by the market participants. Financial stocks led the gains on Wall street gains while shipbuilders ended in the red on profit taking.

The Indian market ended a volatile session modestly lower, as investors took some profits following recent gains. A mixed trend in the European markets and lower U.S stock index futures also weighed on the market. Realty and IT stocks dragged the market lower, while banking and metal stocks helped cut some of the losses. The BSE Sensex ended at 16,441, down 58 points or 0.35% from its previous close, and the S&P CNX Nifty fell 17 points or 0.34% to 4,882.

Among the other major markets in the region, China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up 3.02 points, or 0.10% to 3,179, Singapore's Strait Times Index added 14.22 points, or 0.53% to close at 2,708 and Taiwan's Weighted Index advanced 56.79 points, or 0.75%, to close at 7,593. However, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index bucked the trend and ended weaker with a loss 24.48 points, or 1.02% at 2,382.

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