Headline shares of the Asia pacific market closed mixed on Thursday, 31 March 2016, as early gain inspired by tracking modest gains on the Wall Street overnight after Fed officials backed Yellen's dovish tone, largely offset on caution ahead of key economic data globally due to release tomorrow.
The financial markets continue the ride on theme that Fed will only adopt a very gradual pace of rate hikes. This week's dovish comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen have reinforced the view that US interest rates will be low for longer. Ms Yellen's stance has pushed down the greenback which has lifted dollar-denominated commodities and forced government bond yields lower, which in turn makes equities appear relatively more attractive.
Market participants largely opted wait and see mode ahead of key economic data. On Friday, Beijing will announce the official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data for March while the US government will post its non-farm employment data for the month and the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for March are due out. Bank of Japan's tankan quarterly business sentiment survey report and other key economic indicators are also released on Friday.
Among Asian bourses
Australia Market rises 1.45%
Australian share market advanced for second straight session, buoyed by a strong rally in mining and banking stocks. At close of trade, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 72.50 points, or 1.45%, to 5082.80. The broader All Ordinaries added 70.30 points, or 1.38%, to 5151.80.
Consumer discretionary stocks including wagering and media companies were the biggest gainers. Gambling firm Tatts rose by 4.7% and newspaper publisher Fairfax Media rose by 3%.
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Shares of both the miners and the banks have had strong recoveries today on easing fear of capital outflow after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's comments this week that the central bank should proceed cautiously with interest rate hikes. BHP Billiton added 1.4% to A$16.86 after its global competitor Tata Steel announced shutdown of the UK operations. Rio Tinto gained 1.7% to A$42.69, while Fortescue Metals slipped 0.8% to A$2.55. Origin Energy shares rose 3% to A$5.09 after signing its first solar farm deal and reaffirming cost cutting targets. National Australia Bank was the best of the banks, climbing 2.3 per cent to A$26.24, while Commonwealth Bank added 2.2% to A$74.92, Westpac advanced 1.5% to A$30.35 and ANZ rose 1.5% to $23.46.
Virgin Australia made up some lost ground today, up 7.3% to A$0.365, after losing 9.3% on Wednesday on news that Air New Zealand is looking at selling its shareholding in Australia's second domestic carrier. Competitor Qantas also did well today after a 10.5% rise in passenger numbers for February. It closed 2.5% higher at A$4.07.
Nikkei falls 0.7%
Japan share market ended last trading session of fiscal 2015 in red terrain amid a growing wait-and-see mood ahead of the release of key U.S. and Japanese economic numbers. The market weakness was also due to stock holdings reduction from investors before the end of the fiscal year. The Nikkei average lost 120.29 points, or 0.71%, to finish at 16,758.67. The Topix index closed down 9.09 points, or 0.67%, at 1,347.20.
Shares of heavily weighted components of the Nikkei average such as mobile phone carriers SoftBank Group and KDDI and clothing store chain operator Fast Retailing, all ended in red. Also on the minus side were retailers Aeon and Seven & I Holdings, as well as drug makers Takeda and Ono Pharmaceutical. Another drug maker Peptidream was pressured by profit-taking after recent surges. By contrast, banking groups Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui, electronics maker Sony, industrial robot manufacturer Fanuc and electronic parts producer Murata Manufacturing attracted buying.
Toshiba surged 5.8% a day after the electronics and machinery maker said it has concluded a contract to sell the 80% stake in white goods unit to China's Midea Group for 53.7 billion yen.
Aeon Co. tumbled 4% after Macquarie Group cut its rating on the supermarket chain operator to underperform from neutral.
Sharp Corp. lost 4.4% after Foxconn Technology Group agreed to buy the struggling Japanese electronics maker. Foxconn will pay 389 billion yen ($3.5 billion) for a controlling stake in Sharp, a drop of 100 billion yen from an agreement forged a month ago.
China Market steady
Mainland China stock market ended slight higher, after the previous session's 2% jump, as markets took comfort in the likely prospect that U.S. interest rates will rise at a slower pace. But gains were limited on caution before the Chinese manufacturing industry purchasing managers' index due tomorrow. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.27 points, or 0.11%, to 3003.92. The CSI 300 Index, measuring exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, added 1.81 points, or 0.06%, to 3218.09.
Shares of industrial and consumer-discretionary stocks climbed the biggest gains in the 10 industry groups. Chongqing Changan Automobile surged 10% after the company announced the private share sale. Citic Heavy Industries Co. rallied by the 10% daily limit.
Transportation shares gained on gaining optimism toward the sector. Air China, China's flagship airline, jumped nearly 2% said on Wednesday its 2015 net profit jumped 77.5%, boosted by record low fuel prices and robust leisure and business travel demand.
Shares of banking sector fell 0.4%, as three of China's "Big Four" state-owned banks said they were bracing for slower economic growth this year, after they cut dividends and reported near-flat or falling quarterly profits on Wednesday.
Hong Kong Stocks down
The Hong Kong stock market closed tad lower, as investors turned cautious ahead of key economic data tomorrow. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 26.69 points, or 0.13%, to 20776.70 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, benchmark measure of performance of mainland China enterprises, grew 23.84 points, or 0.27%, to 9003.25 points. Turnover reduced to HK$71 billion from HK$75.2 billion on Wednesday.
CCB (00939), ICBC (01938) and BOC (03988) have announced inline earnings reports but cut their dividend payout. CCB, ICBC and BOC fell 2%, 1% and 1% to HK$4.95, HK$4.34 and HK$3.22 respectively. ABC (01288) softened 1% to HK$2.79. ABC will report its earnings later today. BOCHK (02388) rose 1% to HK$23.15 as its 2015 earnings grew 9% to post-IPO record of RMB26.8 billion.
China Merchants (00144) leaped 6% to HK$23.05 as it reported 2015 earnings growth of 6% to RMB4.81 billion. It was the top blue-chip winner today.
Wanda Comm (03699) soared 18% to HK$45.95 as its parent company may take the company private with an offer price not less than HK$48. Wanda Hotel (00169) also surged 11% to HK$0.88.
Shares of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co surged 18%, after disclosing that its parent Dalian Wanda Group was looking at taking the company private.
Sensex climbs amid volatility in late trade
Indian benchmark indices ended near the flat line on the last trading day of the financial year. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 3.28 points or 0.01% to settle at 25,341.86. The Nifty 50 index rose 3.20 points or 0.04% to settle at 7,738.40.
Shares of companies engaged in exploration & production of natural gas fell on reports that the government has reduced the cost of locally produced gas by about 20% for the six months period starting 1 April 2016. Gas utility stocks rose on reports that the cut in gas price would reduce raw material costs and expand margins of gas utility firms. Most metal shares declined after global credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) cut the outlook on China's sovereign credit rating to negative from stable.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: New Zealand's NZX50 grew 0.6% to 6752.42. Taiwan's Taiex index rose 0.1% to 8744.83. South Korea's KOPSI fell 0.3% to 1995.85. Malaysia's KLCI eased 0.01% to 1717.58. Singapore's Straits Times index fell 1.1% to 2840.90. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index rose 0.6% to 4845.37.
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