Regional stocks attracted brisk purchases after U.S. equities gained sharply Monday on the back of receding geopolitical risks over North Korea and smaller than expected damage caused by Hurricane Irma on the United States.
The UN Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea, slapping a ban on textile exports and restricting shipments of oil products to punish Pyongyang for its sixth and largest nuclear test. Speculation spread that North Korea will not launch a missile or conduct other provocative acts as the resolution was not as tough as originally proposed by the United States
Among Asian bourses
Australia Market extends gain
Australian equity market finished session at three-week high, benefited from Wall Street's strength overnight after Hurricane Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm. Most of sectors advanced, with both banks and miners being notable gainers. The S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.6%, or 33.251 points, to 5746.4, its best close since Aug. 22. Total 3bn shares were traded, worth a well above average A$5.8bn. 560 stocks rose, 562 fell and 411 finished unchanged.
The banks are continuing to rebound strongly after holding local shares back most last week. Commonwealth Bank of Australia led the financial sector higher with a 2.2% gain, while the remaining 'big four' banks gained between 0.8% and 1.4%. Macquarie Group, Australia's biggest investment bank, jumped 2.3% after it said on Monday that it expects first-half net profit to top its year-ago result thanks to better performance fees.
Shares of Australia's largest mining companies gained as price of oil and most metals improved overnight. Steel and iron ore futures in China also advanced as demand remained intact in the world's top consumer. Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto gained 1.2% and 1.9%, respectively. South32 rose 3.9% to end the session at a record high.
Slater & Gordon (SGH) was up 1.5% after announcing its proposed transformation plan. This will include cost cuts and structure changes. The troubled law firm said that approximately 7% of its Australian workforce will be impacted in some capacity. SGH in recent years has struggled following the purchase of UK based firm Quindell, which triggered losses, write-downs, an ASIC investigation and a class action.
Gold stocks - which have surged in recent weeks on global uncertainty - are coming under selling pressure on Tuesday. The price of gold while still remaining near one-year highs fell overnight. Newcrest Mining lost 1.9% while Regis Resources slumped 5%.
Nikkei rises to highest level in more than a month
The Japan share market closed higher for second straight session, as investors sentiment boosted up by an encouraging performance from US stocks overnight, which posted their second best gains of 2017. Initial reports suggesting the damage from Hurricane Irma will perhaps not be as devastating as first thought and yen weakening against greenback also contributed to firmer shares. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.18%, or 230.85 points, at 19,776.62, the highest since August 8, while the broader Topix index ended the session up 0.94%, or 15.19 points, at 1,627.45. Rising issues far outnumbered falling ones 1,503 to 447 in the first section, while 76 issues were unchanged. Volume rose to 1.654 billion shares from Monday's 1.498 billion.
Export-linked issues were also in the green, with Toyota gaining 1.03% to 6,361 yen, rival Nissan rising 1.40% to 1,115 yen and game giant Nintendo up 3.27% to 37,880 yen.
Electric Vehicle-linked shares rose, with Titan Kogyo, manufacturer of parts for lithium-ion batteries, surging by the daily limit of 27.21% to 374 yen after reports said China was considering banning sales of gasoline and diesel cars.
Japan Post jumped 3.93% to 1,373 yen after the government said late Monday it would sell off another chunk of the country's massive postal service and expected to raise about $12 billion.
Mega-bank group Mitsubishi UFJ, brokerage firm Nomura and insurers Dai-ichi Life and Tokio Marine attracted purchases following a rise in U.S. interest rates.
China Stocks mixed on profit booking
The Mainland China equity market closed mixed, as gains rooted in consumer and financial firms were pared by profit-taking in lithium battery producers late in the session after Monday's gains. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.3%, to 3,837.93 points. The Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.09% to 3,379.49 points, while the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 0.3% to 1,986.21. The ChiNext Index, China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, fell 0.63% to 1,884.48 points.
Shares of lithium battery producers declined on profit booking following sharp rally on Monday after a senior official signaled China has started work on a timetable to phase out fossil-fuel cars. Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co dropped 7.4% to 77.83 yuan and Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co fell 7.7% to 92.30 yuan.
Coal miners rose, led by Shaanxi Heimao Coking Co, whose shares surged by the daily limit of 10% to 13.15 yuan. Coal miners and steel producers would continue to rise as the government sought to upgrade the industries via mergers and cutting supply.
Vehicles sales in China jumped in August compared with July but showed a slowdown on an annualized basis, with the performance of the passenger car sector somewhat sluggish, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Monday. On a month-on-month basis, total vehicle sales, comprising both passenger cars and commercial vehicles, jumped 10.89% to 2.19 million units, compared with a decrease of 9.24% in July, according to CAAM. On an annualized basis, total vehicle sales rose 5.27%, compared with 6.15% growth in July.
Hong Kong Stocks advance fractionally
The Hong Kong stock market extended gain for third straight session, as investors' risk sentiment continued to improve by an overnight advance on Wall Street on receding geopolitical risks over North Korea and smaller than expected damage caused by Hurricane Irma on the United States. The Hang Seng Index edged up 0.1%, or 17.11 points to 27,972.24. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 0.2%, or 20.93 points, to 11,242.06. Daily turnover stood at HK$90 billion.
Auto stocks extended gains on reports that China is working on a timetable to phase out the production and sale of fossil-fuel vehicles. Brilliance Auto added 8.3%, and Guangzhou Automobile Group rose 0.9%. Electric car maker BYD jumped 10.5% to HK$54.6 after announcing on Monday a successful bid to supply electric buses to Shenzhen. Carmaker Geely surged 6% to an all-time high of HK$20.7, as Goldman Sachs released a report showing its August sales rose 38.6%.
Shares related to Apple were also traded heavily ahead of the launch of the 10th anniversary iPhone in the United States, scheduled for 1.00am Hong Kong time on Wednesday. Sunny Optical, which supply smartphone components for Apple, was up 7.1%, while Q Technology, which produces camera and fingerprint recognition modules, increased 9%.
Property stocks inched down, with Cheung Kong Property declining 1.2%, while Sun Hung Kai Properties fell 0.6%.
Sensex settles above 32,000
Key benchmark indices spurted as positive global cues boosted investors' sentiment on the domestic bourses. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 276.50 points or 0.87% to settle at 32,158.66. The Nifty 50 index gained 87 points or 0.87% to settle at 10,093.05. The Sensex settled above the psychologically important 32,000 mark. Key equity benchmarks gained for fourth day in a row today, 12 September 2017. All the nineteen sectoral indices on BSE were in the green.
Bank stocks rose. Realty stocks gained. Engineering and construction major L&T rose after its construction arm won orders worth Rs 2525 crore across various business segments.
ICICI Bank rose 0.17%. The bank said that the committee of executive directors constituted by the board of the bank is scheduled to have a meeting on 12 September 2017 to consider fund raising by way of issuance of Basel III compliant unsecured subordinated perpetual additional Tier 1 bonds in single/multiple tranches on private placement basis. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 11 September 2017.
Jammu & Kashmir Bank rose 2.2% to Rs 81.30 after the bank said that it has revised lower the interest rate on saving bank deposit accounts with effect from 12 September 2017. The announcement was made during market hours today, 12 September 2017. Jammu & Kashmir Bank said that interest rate on domestic/non-resident ordinary/non-resident external rupee savings bank deposits have been reduced from 4% per annum to 3.5% per annum.
Engineering and construction major L&T rose 0.94% to Rs 1,228.35. The company announced during trading hours today, 12 September 2017, that its construction arm won orders worth Rs 2525 crore across various business segments.
State-run oil marketing company BPCL rose 4.33% to Rs 534.70. The company announced during trading hours today, 12 September 2017, that the Government of India conferred BPCL with Maharatna Status. Accordingly, BPCL is empowered to exercise the powers of a Maharatna Company as governed by relevant guidelines issued by Department of Public Enterprises.
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