Asia Pacific share market advanced in thin trade on Tuesday, 29 December 2015, as investors chased for undervalued stocks. The gains came as oil prices got a slight reprieve in late Asian trading hours and China vowed to maintain reasonable credit growth and keep the yuan stable. The economic calendar continues to be very light today with no event scheduled in Asia and Europe.
Among Asian bourses
Australia Market extends gain to eighth day
Australian share market advanced for eight consecutive sessions, the longest stretch of gains seen since early February this year. All sectors except the materials sector recorded gains, with gains were led by consumer staples and discretionary issues. Financials were also in demand. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended 59.70 points, or 1.15%, up at 5267.30 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index grew 59.50 points, or 1.13%, to 5315.60 points.
Shares of consumer staples and discretionary issues were higher on the back of improved jobs prospects into 2016. JB HiFi finished up 2.7% to A$18.94, while Harvey Norman increased by 5%, to A$4.23 and Domino Pizza found 4.5% to A$59.34.
Financial shares were also climbed, with big four banks leading rally. Among the banks, ANZ was up 1.4% to A$27.63, Commonwealth Bank lifted 1.4% to A$84.50, National Australia Bank rose 1.8% to A$29.91 and Westpac put on 1.5% to A$33.02.
The miners fell despite iron ore lifting for the seventh straight session. BHP was down 1.2% to A$18.11 and Rio Tinto dropped 2.6% to A$44.77
Nikkei extends gain
Japan share market finished the session higher for second straight day after recouping initial losses, aided by buybacks of undervalued stocks before the last day of trading. All TOPIX sectors except the Iron & Steel sector recorded gains, with gains were led by Fishery, Agriculture & Forestry, Pharmaceutical, Construction, Banks, Insurance, and Air Transportation issues. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average advanced 108.88 points, or 0.58%, to 18982.23. The Topix index of all Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues grew 14.17 points, or 0.93%, to 1543.39.
Shares of fishing and agriculture and drug makers advanced the most in Tokyo sector indices. Seafood producer Nippon Suisan Kaisha rose 6.1%. Ono Pharmaceutical Co. added 1.6%. Alpine Electronics Inc. jumped 8.1% after Nomura Holdings Co. raised its rating on the car audio maker.
Toshiba Corp. jumped 2.7% after reports the company is seeking its second credit line from banks in three months, aiming to gain access to an additional 300 billion yen ($2.5 billion) as it faces mounting costs from an accounting scandal that has led to layoffs and asset sales.
China Market closes higher
The Mainland China stock market ended higher after wavering between positive and negative territories, as the central bank vowed to maintain reasonable credit growth and keep the yuan stable. All SSE sectors recorded gains, with gains were led by telecom, energy, technology, material, and financial issues. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.85%, or 29.96 points, to close at 3563.74. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, added 0.95%, or 21.98 points, to close at 2330.35. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, jumped 0.52%, or 14.34 points, to close at 2749.82.
China's central bank said on Monday that it would "flexibly" use various policy tools to maintain appropriate liquidity and reasonable growth in credit and social financing. The People's Bank of China will keep the yuan basically stable while forging ahead with reforms to help improve its currency regime, it said in a statement summarizing the fourth-quarter monetary policy committee meeting. The PBOC said it would maintain a prudent monetary policy, keeping its stance "neither too tight nor too loose."
Mainland brokerage shares advanced, with Haitong Securities up 1.82%. Shares of China's Hua Xia Bank closed up 3.23% after reports said that Deutsche Bank agreed to sell its 20% stake in the bank to insurance company PICC Property and Casualty.
Hong Kong Market ends 0.36% up
The Hong Kong stock market ended higher in quiet trade, following gains in the Mainland A-share market and other Asian bourses today. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 80 points, or 0.36%, to 21999.62 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, benchmark measure of performance of mainland China enterprises, lost 0.55 point, or 0.01%, to 9788.91 points. Turnover reduced slightly to HK$37.9 billion from HK$40.7 billion on Monday.
PetroChina (00857) bucked the uptrend, falling 1.5% to HK$5.19. Kunlun Energy (00135) jumped 2.9% to HK$6.86. PetroChina said it will transfer its entire stake in PetroChina Kunlun Gas to Kunlun Energy for RMB14.8 billion.
PICC P&C (02328) dipped 1.7% to HK$15.94. The insurer has agreed to acquire 20% stake in Hua Xia Bank from Deutsche Bank for RMB23.3-25.7 billion. Its major shareholder PICC Group (01339) also slipped 0.3% to HK$3.9. Other insurers were mixed, with Ping An (02318) rising 0.7% to HK$43.8. CPIC (02601) fell 0.6% to HK$32.15.
Sensex registers small gains
A divergent trend was witnessed among various index constituents, with the two key benchmark indices registering minuscule to small gains. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 45.35 points or 0.17% to settle at 26,079.48. The 50-unit Nifty 50 index rose 3.80 points or 0.05% to settle at 7,928.95.
Cement stocks gained. Shares of public sector banks declined. Shares of private sector banks rose. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) fell on reports that the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has deferred terms of reference (ToR) for Bhel's Yadadri thermal power project in Telangana due to ecological concerns. Shares of two-wheeler makers rose.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index fell 0.77% to 8293.91. South Korea's KOPSI grew 0.11% to 1966.31. New Zealand's NZX50 added 1.1% to 6292.44. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index grew 0.26% to 4569.36. Malaysia's KLCI jumped 0.9% to 1685.36. Singapore's Straits Times index rose 0.45% at 2888.22.
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