Asian stocks fight back
Friday, 29 January 2010
HONG KONG, Jan 28 (Bloomberg): Asian stocks edged up Thursday, ending the recent losses as the traders eyed a rebound in US stocks overnight and upbeat assessment of the economic recovery from the US Fed helped propel some risk aversion after the recent flurry of sell off in the equities.
US President Barack Obama stated that his main focus of this year would be on jobs, though he also called for continued efforts to pass health care reform and revealed plans. This made investors in Asia shrug off the concerns about Chinese tightening measures and lowering of Japan's sovereign credit rating outlook by S&P.
In a crucial development, the FOMC did roll back another one of its extraordinary lending programmes that were designed to substitute for the regular credit markets that had become catatonic, even as its ultra low rate policy didn't change at all.
The Fed also noted "Financial conditions remain supportive of economic growth, US President Obama moderated his tone on bank restrictions. In his annual State of the Union address Wednesday, Obama pledged to slap tough new regulation on Wall Street but said he was "not interested in punishing banks." Obama said he would continue financial reform to fight against excessive speculation and also vowed he would veto any finance bill that does not contain "real reform."
In the US, stocks were able to post moderate gains Wednesday, turning higher in mid-afternoon dealing amid news of the Federal Reserve's decision to leave its key interest rates at record lows.
The Dow gained 41.87 points or 0.4 per cent to end at 10,236, the Nasdaq advanced by 17.68 points or 0.8 per cent to 2,221 and the S&P 500 rose by 5.33 points or 0.5 per cent to 1,097.
The stock market in Japan snapped its recent losing streak and ended in positive territory Thursday, lifted by optimism about better-than-expected earnings from domestic companies. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index gained 162.21 points, or 1.58 per cent to 10,414, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues advanced 6.65 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 914.
On the economic front, a report released by the ministry of economy, trade and industry revealed that retail sales in the country declined 0.3 per cent year-on-year in December, at 12.995 trillion yen.
The report further noted that on a seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales declined 1.2 per cent in December following a 0.2 per cent gain in the previous month. Economists expected retail sales to decline 0.2 per cent for the month. For the fourth quarter, retail sales in the country declined 0.8 per cent year-over-year to 34.848 trillion yen.
The Australian market snapped the four-day losses and ended in positive territory Thursday. Positive closing on Wall Street in the previous session and decision of the Federal Reserve to maintain low interest rate regime also bolstered investor sentiment. Banks and commodity stocks led the gains in the market.
In India, the markets closed with small gains in what was a choppy trading session ahead of the RBI policy review tomorrow. The BSE 30-share Sensex was provisionally up 40.30 points or 0.25 per cent, giving up intraday gains as capital goods stocks fell.
In other indices, China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.3 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.6 per cent, South Korea's Kospi climbed one per cent, Singapore's Straits Times index was up 1.8 per cent and Taiwan's Taiex closed 1.8 per cent higher.
US President Barack Obama stated that his main focus of this year would be on jobs, though he also called for continued efforts to pass health care reform and revealed plans. This made investors in Asia shrug off the concerns about Chinese tightening measures and lowering of Japan's sovereign credit rating outlook by S&P.
In a crucial development, the FOMC did roll back another one of its extraordinary lending programmes that were designed to substitute for the regular credit markets that had become catatonic, even as its ultra low rate policy didn't change at all.
The Fed also noted "Financial conditions remain supportive of economic growth, US President Obama moderated his tone on bank restrictions. In his annual State of the Union address Wednesday, Obama pledged to slap tough new regulation on Wall Street but said he was "not interested in punishing banks." Obama said he would continue financial reform to fight against excessive speculation and also vowed he would veto any finance bill that does not contain "real reform."
In the US, stocks were able to post moderate gains Wednesday, turning higher in mid-afternoon dealing amid news of the Federal Reserve's decision to leave its key interest rates at record lows.
The Dow gained 41.87 points or 0.4 per cent to end at 10,236, the Nasdaq advanced by 17.68 points or 0.8 per cent to 2,221 and the S&P 500 rose by 5.33 points or 0.5 per cent to 1,097.
The stock market in Japan snapped its recent losing streak and ended in positive territory Thursday, lifted by optimism about better-than-expected earnings from domestic companies. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index gained 162.21 points, or 1.58 per cent to 10,414, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues advanced 6.65 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 914.
On the economic front, a report released by the ministry of economy, trade and industry revealed that retail sales in the country declined 0.3 per cent year-on-year in December, at 12.995 trillion yen.
The report further noted that on a seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales declined 1.2 per cent in December following a 0.2 per cent gain in the previous month. Economists expected retail sales to decline 0.2 per cent for the month. For the fourth quarter, retail sales in the country declined 0.8 per cent year-over-year to 34.848 trillion yen.
The Australian market snapped the four-day losses and ended in positive territory Thursday. Positive closing on Wall Street in the previous session and decision of the Federal Reserve to maintain low interest rate regime also bolstered investor sentiment. Banks and commodity stocks led the gains in the market.
In India, the markets closed with small gains in what was a choppy trading session ahead of the RBI policy review tomorrow. The BSE 30-share Sensex was provisionally up 40.30 points or 0.25 per cent, giving up intraday gains as capital goods stocks fell.
In other indices, China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.3 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.6 per cent, South Korea's Kospi climbed one per cent, Singapore's Straits Times index was up 1.8 per cent and Taiwan's Taiex closed 1.8 per cent higher.