Investors were hoping that a softer-than-expected nonfarm payrolls figure will delay an interest rate hike in the U.S. the United States added 126000 jobs in March , the weakest since 2013. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5%. The employment report affirms market views that September could be the earliest time frame for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates from record lows
Risk sentiment was also boosted by Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis statement on Sunday that Greece "intends to meet all obligations to all its creditors, ad infinitum," seeking to quell fears of a default before a big loan payment Athens owes the International Monetary Fund later this week. Varoufakis pledged to meet this week's upcoming 440 million-euro IMF payment on Thursday, easing earlier concerns that the government was to prioritize wages and pension payments over the repayment.
Among Asian bourses
Nikkei rises 1.25%
Japanese share market advanced, boosted by gains on Wall Street overnight and a weaker yen against the greenback, with export-related stocks leading the rally. Surges in petroleum-linked equities also contributed to boosting the market. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index inclined 242.56 points, or 1.25%, to finish at 19640.54, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares advanced 17.84 points, or 1.14%, to 1578.55.
Shares of export related companies closed higher after the yen was relatively weaker against US dollar. A weaker yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and increases profits when repatriated. Sony Corp rose 0.2% to 3490 yen and Canon Inc 0.4% to 4460 yen. Toshiba Corp jumped 1.1% to 492.70 yen, Fuji Heavy Industries 1.5% to 4130.50 yen and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co 1.4% to 2140 yen. Honda Motor Co jumped 0.3% to 4046.50 yen and Nissan Motor Co 1.2% to 1223.50 yen.
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Petroleum-linked equities also higher as US oil prices rallied above $US50 a barrel overnight. Crude prices soared yesterday after Saudi Arabia raised prices for oil exports to Asia. Oil explorer Inpex added 4.4% to 1,386.5 yen, while Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. climbed 5.1% to 4,245 yen.
Koei Tecmo jumped 3.8% to 1,868 yen after video game maker reported better than forecasted preliminary net income of 9.3 billion yen ($77 million) for the previous fiscal year.
Ono Pharmaceutical rose 1.8% to 13,420 yen after SMBC Nikko raised its rating on the stock to outperform from neutral.
Asics dropped 1.8% to 3,215 yen after Credit Suisse lowered its rating on the company to neutral from outperform.
Australian market ups 0.4%
The Australian share market closed higher in volatile trade, after a four-day break over the Easter weekend, amid indication that the Reserve Bank of Australia likely to cut interest rates as early as its next policy meeting on May 4. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 27.40 points, or 0.46%, to 5926, while the broader All Ordinaries Index grew 23.50 points, or 0.4%, to 5893.20. Market turnover was healthy, with 1.53 billion shares changing hands worth of A$4.97 billion.
The Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates at 2.25% for the second month in row on Tuesday, but signalled another cut likely as early as its next policy meeting on May 4. The central bank lowered the rate to a new record low of 2.25% in February. In the event, bank board members have decided that a weaker Australia dollar, moderate expansion in credit growth, a pick-up in lending to business and low inflation left it the option of staying put for now. Frothy house prices in Sydney have also weighed on their deliberations, while economists have suggested the bank was waiting to assess the effectiveness of its February cut. "At today's meeting the Board judged that it was appropriate to hold interest rates steady for the time being," governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement. "Further easing of policy may be appropriate over the period ahead, in order to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation consistent with the target. The board will continue to assess the case for such action at forthcoming meetings."
Shares of bullion, energy and mining companies were major beneficiaries in Sydney market, on tracking rebound in commodity and precious metal prices overnight. Woodside Petroleum added 0.6% to A$34.37, Santos 2.2% to A$7.10, Origin Energy 0.3% to A$11.33, and Oil Search 1.8% to A$7.23. Gold Miner Newcrest advanced 1.1% to A$13.93 and Perseus Mining added 1.6% to A$0.31. BHP Billiton climbed up 0.8% to A$30.45 and Rio Tinto rose 0.7% to A$56.15. However, Fortescue Metals Group declined 1.4% to A$1.795 as iron ore spot prices in China ending last week at a fresh low of $46.70 a tonne. Atlas Iron was suspended from trade as it launches an extensive review of its operations, finances, and possible asset sale opportunities, due to plunging iron ore prices.
Leighton Holdings shares advanced 1.5% to A$21.15 after construction giant announced it has won a $608 million ($A800.26 million) contract to build the world's largest reinforced concrete reservoirs in Qatar.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that retail sales rose by a higher-than-expected 0.7% in February from a month earlier. Sales for January were upwardly revised to 0.5% from 0.4% when the figures were first released.
Shanghai Composite hits to fresh seven year high
Mainland China share market closed at fresh seven-year high, as investors bet on more monetary easing by the government. Investors also drew confidence from the official Xinhua news agency report stating acceleration in initial public offerings would not stop the market's bull run. The Shanghai Composite Index inclined 97.45 points, or 2.52% to 3961.38 at the close, its highest level since March 2008. The CSI300 index, the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, grew 89.50 points, or 2.15%, to 4260.04.
Last week, China's securities regulator approved 30 IPOs for April, compared with 24 in each of the previous two months, raising concerns that stepped-up share sales could hurt the market. But Xinhua said in an article that the current pace of IPOs has negligible impact on the stock market, as regulators hope to channel some of the heavy money inflows into the real economy.
Transportation, telecom, and machinery stocks rose sharply, as investors bet they would benefit the most from Beijing's push toward overseas expansion. BOE Technology was up 3.4% to 4.29 yuan. Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies Co. jumped 10% daily limit to 26.06 yuan after regulators approved a share sale and asset purchase plan. Shares of CSR Corp locked 10% upper circuit at 18.69 yuan and China CNR Corp jumped 10% daily limit to 20.25 yuan after winning approval for their merger from the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the commerce ministry.
The banking share climbed after China published rules to expedite the sale of asset-backed securities, benefitting banks to move risky assets out of their balance sheets and generate fresh cash for new businesses. Industrial Bank Co jumped 6.1% to 19.79 yuan. Agricultural Bank of China added 2.7% to 3.76 yuan, Bank of China 2.3% to 4.47 yuan and Everbright Bank 4.4% to 5.04 yuan. Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. added 3% to 81.03 yuan.
Sensex ekes out small gains
Recovery at the fag end of the trading session took key benchmark indices into the green from red. Recovery in late trade materialized after benchmark indices languished in red earlier during the trading session after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its benchmark lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 7.5% after first bi-monthly Monetary Policy review for 2015-16 announced today, 7 April 2015. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was provisionally up 48.03 points or 0.17% at 28,552.49.
The RBI vowed to keep monetary policy accommodative, but warned that it will be watching consumer inflation closely. The RBI expects increase in inflation based on the consumer price index to 5.8% by the end of the current financial year after easing to around 4% August 2015. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.17%, outperforming the Sensex. Among the gainers from the constituents of the BSE Small-Cap index, gains ranged from 3% to 20% for quite a few stocks.
Banking and realty stocks declined after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its benchmark lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 7.5% after first bi-monthly Monetary Policy for 2015-16 announced today, 7 April 2015.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday, 6 April 2015, said that legitimate taxes must be paid and should not be perceived as 'tax terrorism'. Jaitley said at a Confederation of Indian Industry conference in New Delhi that while India does not practice tax terrorism, it is not a tax haven either. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 936.81 crore yesterday, 6 April 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 170.03 crore yesterday, 6 April 2015, as per provisional data.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: South Korea KOSPI added 0.03% to 2047.03. Taiwan's Taiex grew 0.43% to 9641.90. New Zealand NZX50 was up 0.4% to 5855.44. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index added 0.8% to 5523.29. Singapore's Straits Times index jumped 0.37% at 3465.62. Malaysia's KLCI climbed up 0.74% to 1856.51. The Hong Kong stock market closed for holiday.
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