The US market rallied overnight after the Federal Reserve ratified plans from US banks to use extra capital for stock buybacks and dividends. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 143.95 points, or 0.68 percent, to 21,454.61, the S&P 500 gained 21.31 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,440.69 and the Nasdaq Composite added 87.79 points, or 1.43 percent, to 6,234.41.
The Federal Reserve gave the green light to plans by all 34 large US lenders seeking to provide big payouts to shareholders after the firms passed annual stress tests. Fed boss Janet Yellen has also said its shift to tighter monetary policy is on track while other central bank chiefs signalled similar moves were in view. Central bankers around the world signalled that interest rates may need to rise with the global economy solid enough to withstand tighter financial conditions.
Oil prices gained for the sixth straight session. Brent crude futures rose 0.7 percent to trade at $47.64 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate added 0.78 percent to trade at $45.09.
Among Asian bourses
Australia Market climbs on financials, miners
Australian equity market finished session in the highest level in two weeks, on mirroring solid gains on Wall Street overnight and further gains in commodity markets, with shares of banks and miners leading rally. At the close, the S&P/ASX 200 was 1.1% higher at 5818.1 points, Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 747 to 427 and 414 ended unchanged. The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 8.40% to 11.855.
The materials sector received support from higher commodity prices. Oil futures climbed more than 1% on Wednesday to their highest in more than a week while China's iron ore rallied more than 3%. BHP Billiton added 2.6% and Rio Tinto 3.3%. Diversified miner South32 was 2.6% higher Among energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum was up by 1.7%, Oil Search jumped 4.6% and Santos was 3% stronger.
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The big banks saw strong buying on tracking gains on the US financials. Financial stocks were on the rise across Asia after major U.S. financial institutions received Federal Reserve approval to lift dividend payouts and share buybacks. Commonwealth Bank rose 1.6%, Westpac 2%, Australia & New Zealand Bank 2.4%, and National Australia Bank 2.2%. Investment bank and asset manager Macquarie rebounded 2.2% from losses the last four sessions running.
Nikkei nears 2-year high
The Japan share market finished session near two-year peak on tracking rally in the Wall Street overnight, with exporters and financials being major gains, thanks to the yen's retreat against the U.S. dollar and rally in US financial peers after Federal Reserve ratified plans from US banks to use extra capital for stock buybacks and dividends. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 0.45%, or 89.89 points, to 20,220.30. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 0.60%, or 9.70 points, to 1,624.07.
Financial shares got a lift after the Federal Reserve gave the green light to plans by all 34 large US lenders seeking to provide big payouts to shareholders after the firms passed annual stress tests. Fed boss Janet Yellen has also said its shift to tighter monetary policy is on track while other central bank chiefs signalled similar moves were in view. Banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial jumped 1.07% to 755.2 yen, while rivals Mizuho Financial rose 0.83% to 205.7 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui climbed 1.20% to 4,366 yen.
Shares of export-related issues gained after the dollar stood tall against the yen. The dollar was holding firm at 112.26 yen against 112.32 yen in New York. Sony rose 0.85% to 4,365 yen and SoftBank was up 0.64% to close at 9,252 yen. Nintendo jumped 2.40% to 38,780 yen on hopes for its game console sales.
Japan's preliminary retail sales data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released on Thursday, showing retail sales rose 2.0% on year in May for the seventh straight year-on-year rise after +3.2% in April as higher temperatures pushed up demand for summer clothing and the lingering effects of new models continued to support automobile sales
China Stocks up resources rally
The Mainland China equity market closed higher, as risk sentiments buoyed by easing fears of a quarter-end liquidity crunch in the banking system, as well as a rise in the yuan, which assuaged concerns about capital outflows. Most of the SSE sectors climbed with shares of commodity-linked players being major gainers driven by strong gains in raw material. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.62%, to 3,668.83 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.47% to 3,188.06 points.
The raw material sector firmed as global commodity prices rose on the back of a weaker U.S. dollar. Aluminium Corp rose about 2%, China Molybdenum increased more than 3 precent and copper maker Jiangxi Copper firmed 1%.
Shares in China's coal miners were particularly strong, as the country said it will ban coal imports at small ports from July 1, boosting China's coking coal futures. Shanxi Coking surged the maximum allowed 10%, while Shanxi Xishan Coal jumped 4.4%.
China's current account surplus expanded in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter, as the goods trade surplus improved, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced on Thursday. The current account surplus rose to $18.4 billion in the January-March period from the $11.8 billion surplus posted in the fourth quarter of last year but was well below the $39.3 billion surplus in the same quarter a year ago, according to SAFE.
Financials lift Hong Kong stocks
The Hong Kong stock market ended stronger, mirroring gains on the Wall Street overnight and Mainland China bourses today. Meanwhile, buying spirit was also aided by speculation that the Chinese government would unveil supportive policies as President Xi Jinping visits the former British colony to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China on July 1. The Hang Seng Index ended up 281 points to 25,965. The H-share index also rose 23 points to 10,432. Turnover increased to HK$80.9 billion from HK$77 billion on Wednesday.
Financial shares got a lift after the Federal Reserve gave the green light to plans by all 34 large US lenders seeking to provide big payouts to shareholders after the firms passed annual stress tests. The rally in the HK financial was also supported by expectations that China will announce more measures to link its markets with Hong Kong's, benefiting investment banks and brokerages. HSBC (00005) shot up 6.28% to HK$72.8 after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "equal weight" and raised its target price to HK$84, becoming the top blue-chip gainer.
Chinese property players gained broadly. Sunac (01918) rallied 5.15% to HK$15.52. Evergrande (03333) put on 2.36% to HK$13.88. CIFI Holdings (00884) jumped 8.31% to HK$3.39. China SCE Property (01966) surged 8.01% to HK$3.37 after Citi Research initiated a "buy" rating.
Geely Auto (00175) picked up 4.73% to HK$17.28 after BOCOM International raised its target price by 34% to HK$22.15.
Indian Market ends with small gains
Indian market losed with marginal gains amid volatility as traders rolled over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month June 2017 series to July 2017 series. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 23.20 points or 0.08% to settle at 30,857.52. The Nifty 50 index rose 12.85 points or 0.14% to settle at 9,504.10. The Sensex settled below the psychological 31,000 level after slipping below that level in afternoon trade. Metal and realty sector stocks advanced.
Market opened on a positive note and traded with modest gains till early afternoon trade as investors' sentiment was positive ahead of nation-wide rollout of the ambitious indirect tax reform the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with effect from 1 July 2017. However, indices pared gains later only to make partial recovery in mid-afternoon trade. Later, indices once again pared all the intraday gains to settle near the flat line.
Axis Bank rose 3.48% at Rs 511.70 after the bank said its board of directors yesterday, 28 June 2017, approved the allotment of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of face value of Rs 10 lakh each for cash at par aggregating to Rs 3500 crore, on a private placement basis. The perpetual debentures with a 5 year call are priced at a fine coupon rate of 8.75%. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 28 June 2017.
National Aluminium Company (Nalco) rose 0.77% after the Ministry of Mines said that the central government is working to expand capacity of the company to make it a major producer of aluminium globally. The Ministry of Mines made the announcement after market hours yesterday, 28 June 2017. JSW Steel rose 3.85% after the company said it proposed slurry pipe line to transport iron ore and coal in Karnataka. The announcement was made during market hours today, 29 June 2017. This slurry pipeline can be set up within 24 months at an estimated cost of Rs 2100 crore. This will facilitate transporting iron ore through slurry pipeline at a very competitive 15% cost of alternate means of transport. This strategic project will enable the company to source almost 50% of the current requirement of iron ore at Vijayanagar works from outside Karnataka either from imports or from Odisha/eastern sector at prices lower than the prevailing prices in Karnataka.
Elsewhere in the region, South Korea's benchmark Kospi index traded higher by 0.55 percent or 13.1 points to close at 2,395.66. Indonesian markets remain closed today.
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