Asia Pacific share market mostly advanced on penultimate session of calendar year, Wednesday, 30 December 2015, as investor sentiment was buoyed by gains across European and U.S. equity markets overnight and the rebound in commodity prices.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a strong performance on Tuesday, amid signs of improvement in the U.S. housing market and consumer confidence. The S&P 500 gained 21.86 points, or 1%, to 2,078, pushing into the green for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 192.71 points, or 1.1%, to 17,720 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 66.95 points, or 1.3%, to 5,107. The European markets bounced back from the previous session's pull back and finished Tuesday's session firmly in the green. The DAX of Germany climbed 1.94%, the CAC 40 of France rose 1.81% and the FTSE of the U.K. gained 0.96%.
Crude oil futures rose sharply on Tuesday, as the first winter cold spell of the year raised demand prospects. WTI for February delivery ended $1.06 or 2.9% higher at $37.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rising further from recent 6-year lows near $35. Iron ore prices were a touch higher on Wednesday, while copper prices were firmer following a rally overnight.
Many traders remained on the sidelines, however, with the upcoming New Year's Day holiday keeping trading activity relatively subdued.
Among Asian bourses
Nikkei extends gain
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Japan share market advanced for third straight session on Wednesday, 30 December 2015, as rally in the US and European stocks overnight and the rebound in commodity prices has bolstered risk sentiments. Many traders remained on the sidelines, however, with the upcoming New Year's Day holiday keeping trading activity relatively subdued. Total 21 out of 33 TOPIX sectors recorded gains, with advances were led by Electric Power & Gas, Foods, and Retail Trade issues. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average advanced 51.48 points, or 0.27%, to 19033.71. The Topix index of all Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues grew 3.91 points, or 0.25%, to 1547.30. Japanese financial markets will close on Thursday and reopen on 4 January 2016 after the New Year holiday.
Shares of Japanese exporters were up, on the back of yen weakness against the dollar. A softer yen improves the profitability and competitiveness of Japanese firms doing business abroad. Toyota Motor Corp rose 0.5%, Sony Corp was up 0.8% and Hitachi gained 0.2%. Toshiba Corp soared 7.7% after a report that Fujifilm may acquire a major stake in its medical division.
Bridgestone rose 0.5% after the tire-maker announced on Tuesday that it had pulled out of a bidding war with Wall Street activist Carl Icahn for control of US auto service chain Pep Boys.
Australia Market ends at 2-month high
Australian share market has closed higher for ninth consecutive session in holiday-thinned trade on Wednesday, 30 December 2015, as risk sentiments boosted up on following an overnight jump in Wall Street and crude oil prices. All sectors except the materials sector recorded gains, with gains were led by healthcare, energy, and financial issues. Consumer staples and discretionary issues were also in demand. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended 52.60 points, or 1%, up at 5319.90 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index grew 50.80 points, or 1%, to 5366.40 points.
Shares of energy players ended with firm footing, as a slight recovery in crude oil prices. Crude oil futures rose sharply on Tuesday, as the first winter cold spell of the year raised demand prospects. WTI for February delivery ended $1.06 or 2.9% higher at $37.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rising further from recent 6-year lows near $35. Among energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum rose 1.4% to A$28.82, Oil Search added 1.8% to A$6.70 and Origin Energy advanced 1.7% to A$4.74. Smaller Beach Energy and Drillsearch Energy were up 5.2% and 5.9% to A$0.51 and A$0.63, respectively.
Shares of consumer staples and discretionary issues were higher on optimism about strong post-Christmas sales. JB HiFi finished up 1.8% to A$19.28, while Harvey Norman increased by 1.2%, to A$4.28 and Myer rose 1.3% to A$51.215. Wesfarmers gained 0.45% to A$41.97 and Woolworths climbed 0.7% to A$25.02.
China Market settles higher
The Mainland China stock market settled higher after recouping initial losses on Wednesday, 30 December 2015, thanks to a late rally in banking shares. But gains were marginal as traders awaited manufacturing activity surveys for December. Risk appetite was also curbed by the looming expiration next month of a six-month ban on share sales that was imposed on listed companies' major shareholders during the summer market rout. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.26%, or 9.14 points, to close at 3572.88. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, added 0.9%, or 21 points, to close at 2351.35. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, jumped 1.08 %, or 29.69 points, to close at 2779.51.
Shares of rail-related companies advanced on rreports that China's state planner has approved the second phase of a 170.1 kilometer railway project worth 52.9 billion yuan ($8.16 billion) in Dalian, due to be completed by 2020. Rail stocks such as CRRC and China Railway Construction traded up 0.93 and 0.52%, respectively.
Hong Kong Market ends 0.53% down
The Hong Kong stock market ended softer in quiet trade on Wednesday, 30 December 2015, undermined by selling in banking and property shares, as traders' awaited China's manufacturing activity surveys for December. The local benchmark opened up 94 points at 22,094. It then staged an intra-day reversal, without seeing window-dressing activities. The benchmark Hang Seng Index declined 117.47 points, or 0.53%, to 21882.15 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, benchmark measure of performance of mainland China enterprises, lost 129.03 points, or 1.32%, to 9659.88 points. Turnover increased to HK$44.9billion from HK$37.9 billion on Tuesday. The HSI Volatility Index (VHSI), which measures the cost of options on the Hong Kong equity gauge, declined 0.2% to 19.23 points, suggesting 5.5% swing in the equity benchmark index in the next 30 days.
Shares of HK listed Chinese financials declined amid profit booking pressure. GF Sec (01776) slipped 1.7% to HK$19.54. CITIC Sec (06030) declined 2.2% to HK$18.2.
PICC & P&C (02328) sank 2.1% to HK$15.6 after Credit Suisse lowered its target price to HK$20.5 after PICC announced its acquisition of a 20% stake in Huaxia Bank. Its parent company PICC Group (01338) dropped 2.1% to HK$3.82. China Life (02628) also declined 2.7% to HK$24.9.
Utilities stocks were also down after China domestic media reported that power tariff cut trend will continue in next year, with reforms broadening to wider areas. CR Power (00836) retreated 2.9% to HK$14.94. Huaneng Power (00902) and Huadian Power (01071) fell 1.2 and 1.4% to HK$6.68 and HK$5.07 respectively.
Sensex, Nifty attain lowest closing level in almost a week
Losses in IT stocks and index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) led decline for key benchmark indices. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex lost 119.45 points or 0.46% to settle at 25,960.03. The 50-unit Nifty 50 index fell 32.70 points or 0.41% to settle at 7,896.25.
Shares of public sector banks edged lower. Shares of private sector banks were mixed. Shares of state-run oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) declined as global crude oil prices surged yesterday, 29 December 2015. Shares of the companies engaged in solar power generation and manufacture of solar power equipment rose after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the scaling up of budget from Rs 600 crore to Rs 5000 crore for implementation of grid connected rooftops systems over a period of five years upto 2019-20 under National Solar Mission (NSM).
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index fell 0.17% to 8279.99. South Korea's KOPSI dropped 0.25% to 1961.31. New Zealand's NZX50 added 0.43% to 6319.39. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index grew 0.52% to 4593.01. Malaysia's KLCI jumped 0.46% to 1693.14. Singapore's Straits Times index fell 0.1% at 2885.51.
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