Asian stocks advance
Sunday, 24 June 2007
SINGAPORE, June 23 (Bloomberg): Asian stocks climbed for a second week. China Mobile Ltd. and Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. led gains after the Chinese government gave its approval for brokerages to buy shares outside the mainland.
``The impact is going to be huge as more money will be coming to Hong Kong,'' said Renault Kam, a director of Atlantis Investment Management Ltd., which oversees $3 billion in Asia. Mainland companies listed in the city are likely to benefit most, as investors would ``rather buy shares of companies with backgrounds they know about.''
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. led gains among technology stocks after benchmark chip prices jumped to the highest in almost two months.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index this week added 1.3 per cent to 153.56, closing at a record 154.47 on June 21.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.2 per cent to 18,188.63. Toshiba Corp. and Nintendo Co. advanced after a government report showed export growth doubled in May, exceeding economist estimates.
Stock indexes in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and South Korea all set new highs during the week. Taiwan's Taiex added 3.2 per cent helped by a pickup in foreign buying.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 4.7 per cent on speculation mainland investors will pump more money into the city's shares, which are relatively cheap compared with China's stocks. The Hang Seng is valued at 17 times reported earnings and the CSI 300 Index, which tracks yuan-denominated shares listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, at 45 times.
China Mobile, the world's largest mobile-phone operator by users, jumped 12 per cent to HK$84.65. PetroChina Co., the nation's biggest oil company, surged 8.5 per cent to HK$11.72. The company said it plans to sell up to 4 billion shares in Shanghai this year to finance expansion.
Hong Kong Exchanges, which operates the city's stock market, jumped 14 per cent to HK$108.50 after daily turnover on the city's bourse this week topped HK$100 billion ($12.8 billion) for the first time.
Mainland brokerages will be allowed to invest in equities traded in 33 markets approved by China's securities watchdog, including Hong Kong, Japan and the US The rules, published by the China Securities Regulatory Commission this week, will take effect July 5.
Taiwan Semiconductor, the world's largest custom chipmaker, climbed 5 per cent to NT$69. Samsung Electronics, the No. 1 computer-memory chipmaker, rose 3 per cent to 591,000 won. Tokyo Electron Ltd., the second-biggest supplier of chipmaking equipment, gained 5.1 per cent to 9,200 yen.
Prices for the benchmark 512-megabit dynamic random access memory chip, or DRAM, soared 27 per cent to $2.21, the highest since April 25, according to Dramexchange.com, Asia's biggest spot market for chips.
The Bloomberg Asia Pacific Semiconductors Index, which tracks 21 of the region's biggest chipmakers, rose 4.3 per cent to 147.05 this week, erasing its loss for the year. The MSCI index is up 9.3 per cent since the start of 2007.
``Most investors had anticipated a rally in chip-related shares because of the outlook that demand will recover toward the second half of this year,'' said Koji Uchida, who helps oversee $61 billion at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. ``The DRAM spot price news was good timing.''
``The impact is going to be huge as more money will be coming to Hong Kong,'' said Renault Kam, a director of Atlantis Investment Management Ltd., which oversees $3 billion in Asia. Mainland companies listed in the city are likely to benefit most, as investors would ``rather buy shares of companies with backgrounds they know about.''
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. led gains among technology stocks after benchmark chip prices jumped to the highest in almost two months.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index this week added 1.3 per cent to 153.56, closing at a record 154.47 on June 21.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.2 per cent to 18,188.63. Toshiba Corp. and Nintendo Co. advanced after a government report showed export growth doubled in May, exceeding economist estimates.
Stock indexes in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and South Korea all set new highs during the week. Taiwan's Taiex added 3.2 per cent helped by a pickup in foreign buying.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 4.7 per cent on speculation mainland investors will pump more money into the city's shares, which are relatively cheap compared with China's stocks. The Hang Seng is valued at 17 times reported earnings and the CSI 300 Index, which tracks yuan-denominated shares listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, at 45 times.
China Mobile, the world's largest mobile-phone operator by users, jumped 12 per cent to HK$84.65. PetroChina Co., the nation's biggest oil company, surged 8.5 per cent to HK$11.72. The company said it plans to sell up to 4 billion shares in Shanghai this year to finance expansion.
Hong Kong Exchanges, which operates the city's stock market, jumped 14 per cent to HK$108.50 after daily turnover on the city's bourse this week topped HK$100 billion ($12.8 billion) for the first time.
Mainland brokerages will be allowed to invest in equities traded in 33 markets approved by China's securities watchdog, including Hong Kong, Japan and the US The rules, published by the China Securities Regulatory Commission this week, will take effect July 5.
Taiwan Semiconductor, the world's largest custom chipmaker, climbed 5 per cent to NT$69. Samsung Electronics, the No. 1 computer-memory chipmaker, rose 3 per cent to 591,000 won. Tokyo Electron Ltd., the second-biggest supplier of chipmaking equipment, gained 5.1 per cent to 9,200 yen.
Prices for the benchmark 512-megabit dynamic random access memory chip, or DRAM, soared 27 per cent to $2.21, the highest since April 25, according to Dramexchange.com, Asia's biggest spot market for chips.
The Bloomberg Asia Pacific Semiconductors Index, which tracks 21 of the region's biggest chipmakers, rose 4.3 per cent to 147.05 this week, erasing its loss for the year. The MSCI index is up 9.3 per cent since the start of 2007.
``Most investors had anticipated a rally in chip-related shares because of the outlook that demand will recover toward the second half of this year,'' said Koji Uchida, who helps oversee $61 billion at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. ``The DRAM spot price news was good timing.''