Asian stocks rose for a fourth day
as Japanese shares were boosted by the yen weakening against the
dollar and amid optimism the global economy is recovering.
Nissan Motor Co. (7201) climbed 2.9 percent, leading Japanese
exporters higher as the yen touched a one-month low against the
dollar. Tokyo Electric Power Co. gained 2.6 percent after the
government said it may announce measures today to contain
radiated water at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. Rio
Tinto Group (RIO), the world’s second-biggest miner, led raw-material
producers higher, rising 2.6 percent in Sydney after metals
prices advanced.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.4 percent to 132.80 as
of 10:45 a.m. in Hong Kong as all 10 industry groups on the
gauge advanced. More than four shares rose for each that fell.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1 percent from
Aug. 30, with U.S. markets due to reopen after a holiday.
“Markets have started the week in a positive frame of
mind,” Mike Jones, a currency strategist in Wellington at Bank
of New Zealand Ltd., said by e-mail. “Manufacturing data out of
China and Europe essentially confirmed the global economy is on
the mend.”
A Chinese services industry index today confirmed the
world’s second-biggest economy is strengthening following a two-quarter slowdown, after a weekend report showed manufacturing in
the country rose to a 16-month high. A euro-area manufacturing
index yesterday increased more than economists forecast. Hong
Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1 percent and China’s Shanghai
Composite Index rose 0.5 percent.
Regional Gauges
Japan’s Topix index gained 2.5 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX
200 Index rose 0.2 percent ahead of a central bank announcement
today in which it is forecast to maintain its key interest rate
at 2.5 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index climbed 0.6 percent.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index sank 0.1 percent and Taiwan’s
Taiex added 0.5 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index advanced 0.2
percent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.3 percent this year
through yesterday, lagging a 15 percent surge in the S&P 500
Index amid concern the Federal Reserve will taper U.S. economic
stimulus this month.
The Asia-Pacific gauge traded at 12.8 times estimated
earnings yesterday, compared with 14.8 times for the S&P 500 and
a multiple of 13.8 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg.
Japan’s Topix index climbed 30 percent in 2013 through
yesterday, the best performing among 24 developed markets
tracked by Bloomberg, amid optimism Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
and the Bank of Japan can lead the country out of deflation
through unprecedented monetary easing and regulatory reforms.
Yen Weakens
Japanese exporters advanced as the yen fell 0.2 percent to
99.52 per dollar, boosting the value of profits when
repatriated. Nissan gained 2.9 percent to 1,009 yen and Toyota
Motor Corp., Asia’s largest carmaker, rose 2.8 percent to 6,170
yen. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. surged 7.3 percent to 1,073 yen.
Raw-material producers climbed after the London Metal
Exchange Index of industrial metals gained 1.3 percent
yesterday, the most in two weeks. Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest mining company, added 2.6 percent to A$60.77. BHP
Billiton Ltd., the biggest miner, increased 1.1 percent to A$36.
Jiangxi Copper Co., China’s No. 1 producer of the metal, rose
2.1 percent to HK$15.52.
Radioactive Leaks
Tepco (9501), as Tokyo Electric Power is known, rose 2.6 percent
to 521 yen. The government will outline its response today to
radioactive water leaks at Tepco’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear
plant, which was wrecked in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Japan may spend more than 40 billion yen on measures to combat
the leaking radioactive water, the Nikkei newspaper reported
today, citing unnamed officials.
Kansai Electric Power Co. soared 7.8 percent to 1,214 yen
after a panel of seismologists and geologists said an earthquake
fault-line under the utility’s Ohi plant may not be active.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. climbed 2.3 percent to 226 yen
on a report the shipper ordered four new car carriers worth
about $30 billion yen ($302 million).
Digital China Holdings Ltd. (861), a distributor of technology
products, jumped 6 percent to HK$9.37 in Hong Kong after
receiving approval to spin off Digital China Information
Services from the city’s bourse.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Adam Haigh in Sydney at
ahaigh1@bloomberg.net;
Emma O’Brien in Wellington at
eobrien6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Sarah McDonald at
smcdonald23@bloomberg.net
Securities Firm in Tokyo
Yuriko Nakao/Bloomberg
A man walks past an electronic monitor displaying the closing figure of the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, center top, outside a securities firm in Tokyo.
A man walks past an electronic monitor displaying the closing figure of the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, center top, outside a securities firm in Tokyo. Photographer: Yuriko Nakao/Bloomberg
Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) — Graham Bibby, chief executive officer at Richmond Asset Management Ltd., talks about the outlook for global stock markets and his investment strategy.
He speaks from Singapore with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television’s “First Up.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Source Article from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-03/asian-stocks-rise-fourth-day-on-global-economic-recovery.html
