Asian shares lifted by Wall Street rise, Caterpillar earnings
Sunday, 25 July 2010
SINGAPORE, July 24 (Dow Jones): A surge on Wall Street drove Asian stock markets higher Friday, with construction equipment makers in Japan and Korea gaining on strong earnings from the US's Caterpillar.
Risk appetite kicked higher in the region after the Dow Jones Industrial Average put on 2.0 per cent Thursday for its biggest one-day jump since July 7, cheered by solid earnings from Caterpillar, 3M and United Parcel Services as well as better-than-expected existing home sales data.
The 91 per cent surge in Caterpillar's second-quarter profit was lifting sentiment globally, said Macquarie Equities Investment Adviser Brad Gordon in Wellington. "Caterpillar was one of the leaders into the downturn--they pretty much closed shop in 2007--so they are seen as a bit of a bellwether," he said.
DJIA futures were up 14 points in screen trade.
Caterpillar's earnings lifted Japanese construction equipment maker with Komatsu up 3.1 per cent and Hitachi Construction Machinery 2.2 per cent higher, while in Korea Doosan Infracore advanced 1.2 per cent and S&T Dynamics Co. rose 1.1 per cent.
The mood in Tokyo was also helped by news that foreign brokerages placed pre-market net buy orders on 20.9 million shares, a new 2010 high.
Chugai Pharmaceutical rose 1.2 per cent after it released earnings for the first half of the year late Thursday. Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities said: "The absence of a downward revision should support the struggling share price.
Our view remains that the cancer franchise built around Avastin and global expansion for Actemra (with a US launch in January 2010) will drive earnings."
Shipping stocks rose sharply on a Nikkei report that Mitsui OSK Lines and other marine shippers were ramping up their containership services to Africa on increased demand for goods, as resource-rich nations there show economic growth.
The report said Japanese, Chinese and Korean companies are making forays into the African market to tap such growth, lifting demand for shipping and distribution. It added that the continent's import of clothing, shoes, consumer electronics and construction materials have risen sharply, while African exports of lumber, cocoa and other goods have also been picking up steam.
The Australian stock market was enjoying broad-based gains, lifted by Wall Street. BHP Billiton was up 1.8 per cent, Rio Tinto added 1.8 per cent, Woodside Petroleum was up 1.9 per cent and Santos gained 1.9 per cent buoyed by a rise in commodity prices Thursday. Major banks were up 1.6 per cent to 2.2 per cent.
In Seoul, brokerages were higher on expectations that the Kospi would soon break resistance at 1,750. Daewoo Securities was up 4.3 per cent while Tong Yang Securities rose 4.4 per cent and Hyundai Securities surged 5.3 per cent.
In New Zealand, Rakon added 4.2 per cent to Thursday's 2.2 per cent rise after it announced the purchase of French rival Temex, while Pike River Coal added 2.1 per cent after Macquarie Equities upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral. Telecom was up 0.5 per cent as some investors considered the stock cheap.
Risk appetite kicked higher in the region after the Dow Jones Industrial Average put on 2.0 per cent Thursday for its biggest one-day jump since July 7, cheered by solid earnings from Caterpillar, 3M and United Parcel Services as well as better-than-expected existing home sales data.
The 91 per cent surge in Caterpillar's second-quarter profit was lifting sentiment globally, said Macquarie Equities Investment Adviser Brad Gordon in Wellington. "Caterpillar was one of the leaders into the downturn--they pretty much closed shop in 2007--so they are seen as a bit of a bellwether," he said.
DJIA futures were up 14 points in screen trade.
Caterpillar's earnings lifted Japanese construction equipment maker with Komatsu up 3.1 per cent and Hitachi Construction Machinery 2.2 per cent higher, while in Korea Doosan Infracore advanced 1.2 per cent and S&T Dynamics Co. rose 1.1 per cent.
The mood in Tokyo was also helped by news that foreign brokerages placed pre-market net buy orders on 20.9 million shares, a new 2010 high.
Chugai Pharmaceutical rose 1.2 per cent after it released earnings for the first half of the year late Thursday. Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities said: "The absence of a downward revision should support the struggling share price.
Our view remains that the cancer franchise built around Avastin and global expansion for Actemra (with a US launch in January 2010) will drive earnings."
Shipping stocks rose sharply on a Nikkei report that Mitsui OSK Lines and other marine shippers were ramping up their containership services to Africa on increased demand for goods, as resource-rich nations there show economic growth.
The report said Japanese, Chinese and Korean companies are making forays into the African market to tap such growth, lifting demand for shipping and distribution. It added that the continent's import of clothing, shoes, consumer electronics and construction materials have risen sharply, while African exports of lumber, cocoa and other goods have also been picking up steam.
The Australian stock market was enjoying broad-based gains, lifted by Wall Street. BHP Billiton was up 1.8 per cent, Rio Tinto added 1.8 per cent, Woodside Petroleum was up 1.9 per cent and Santos gained 1.9 per cent buoyed by a rise in commodity prices Thursday. Major banks were up 1.6 per cent to 2.2 per cent.
In Seoul, brokerages were higher on expectations that the Kospi would soon break resistance at 1,750. Daewoo Securities was up 4.3 per cent while Tong Yang Securities rose 4.4 per cent and Hyundai Securities surged 5.3 per cent.
In New Zealand, Rakon added 4.2 per cent to Thursday's 2.2 per cent rise after it announced the purchase of French rival Temex, while Pike River Coal added 2.1 per cent after Macquarie Equities upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral. Telecom was up 0.5 per cent as some investors considered the stock cheap.