Asian shares cheered by Wall Street rally

FE Team | Published: December 26, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

HONG KONG, Dec 25 (AFP): Asian markets mostly rose on Wednesday, after stellar growth figures from the world's top economy powered US shares to record highs.
Tokyo led gains, adding 1.24 per cent, or 219.09 points, to close at 17,854.23. Seoul put on 0.39 per cent, or 7.59 points, to end at 1,946.61.
Australia and Hong Kong both ended slightly higher after thin trading in holiday-shortened sessions.
Sydney rose 0.25 per cent, or 13.6 points, to close at 5,394.5 while Hong Kong inched up 0.08 per cent, or 17.54 points, to 23,351.23.
But shares on China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.98 per cent, or 60.08 points, to end at 2,972.53, adding to one of its biggest per centage falls of the year on Tuesday.
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, rose 0.85 per cent, or 11.78 points, to 1,404.40.
Figures showing US gross domestic product grew at 5.0 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter -- up from the previous estimate of 3.9 per cent and well above analyst predictions of 4.3 per cent -- lit a fire under world equity markets.
Wall Street hit fresh records on Tuesday after last week's "Santa Claus rally," with the Dow stock index closing above 18,000 for the first time ever and the S&P 500 also setting a new high.
The data also supported the dollar, which advanced on renewed hopes the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before other leading central banks in mid-2015.
"It was another stellar day for US equities with a much better than expected revised GDP reading triggering the gains," said Stan Shamu at trading house IG Markets.
"The GDP reading also underpinned the greenback as it rallied against the Aussie, euro, yen and sterling."
On Wednesday the greenback bought 120.33 yen, slipping from 120.71 yen in New York but still up from 120.13 yen in Asian trade on Tuesday.
The euro was mixed at $1.2178 and 146.60 yen, from $1.2171 and 146.94 yen in US trade.
In China, shares continued to slide, giving up gains sparked by a surge of foreign buying that followed a surprise interest-rate cut last month.
Shares had jumped more than 20 per cent since Beijing lowered its key rate, rising above the 3,000 mark for the first time in three and a half years.
In Hong Kong shares in China-based shopping mall developer Dalian Wanda surged 4.06 per cent to HK$48.65 after falling on its first day of trading following a record-breaking IPO.
In Japan shares in struggling Skymark Airlines rose 2.50 per cent to 327.0 yen, after diving more than 16 per cent on news Airbus was moving closer to filing a lawsuit over a failed $2.2 billion jet order.
Sony was up 3.98 per cent at 2,568.5 yen after its Hollywood studio said it would screen "The Interview" in some US cinemas on Christmas Day. The launch was originally cancelled following a crippling cyber attack.
Oil prices edged lower in thin pre-holiday trade but analysts said losses were curbed by upbeat sentiment over the robust US economic data. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for February delivery fell 46 cents to $56.66, while Brent crude for February eased 49 cents to $61.20 in afternoon trade.
Gold was at $1,179.80 an ounce, compared with $1,175.75 late Tuesday.
Taipei rose 0.97 per cent, or 88.47 points, to 9,186.18. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 0.36 per cent to Tw$138.0, while smartphone maker HTC fell 1.11 per cent to Tw$133.5.
Wellington rose 0.10 per cent, or 5.32 points, to 5,557.42 points. Ryman Healthcare added 0.48 per cent to NZ$8.45 while Air New Zealand dipped 0.38 per cent to NZ$2.59.