Regional shares followed a positive lead from the United Stated where the three major indices all added more than 1% overnight after new US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen confirmed she would continue existing Fed monetary policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 192.98 points (1.22%) to 15,994.77. The broad-based S&P 500 surged 19.91 points (1.11%) to 1,819.75, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 42.87 points (1.03%) at 4,191.05.
Global investors were cheered after Dr Yellen in her first congressional hearing since taking the top post at the US central bank on February 1, 2014, said she expects to continue predecessor Ben Bernanke's plan to scale back stimulus and keep interest rates low until the labour market improves significantly. Also, House of Representatives Republicans signaled they would agree to extend the US borrowing authority without attaching controversial conditions. The announcement by House Speaker John Boehner averts a major showdown with President Barack Obama over raising the debt limit that could have rattled markets.
Meanwhile, stronger than expected Chinese trade data also buoyed buying appetite in the market. The Customs Administration of China said on Wednesday that country's trade surplus rose to $31.86 billion in January 2014, well above December's $25.6 billion. The value of China's total exports climbed 10.6% YoY in January, while value of imports jumped 10% from a year ago.
Among Asian bourses, Japan's market finished the session modest higher, catching up cues from positive gains on Wall Street overnight and surprisingly strong China's trade data. Meanwhile, modest yen fall against the dollar also supported buying sentiments. The benchmark Nikkei-225 index advanced 81.72 points to finish at 14800.06, while the Topix index of all first-section shares rose 15.32 points to 1219.60. Japan stock market closed on Tuesday for National Foundation Day.
Shares of currency-sensitive exporters were higher, thanks to slight dollar appreciation against the yen. Japan shares are typically highly sensitive to the dollar's movements, as a stronger greenback means exporters can sell their goods more cheaply overseas.
Among leading exporters, Sony Corp was up 3.7% to 1765 yen, Canon Inc 1.2% to 3046 yen, and Olympus Corp 1.8% to 3395 yen. Shares of Tokyo Electron rose 4.6% to 5650 yen and Honda Motor 3.3% to 3834 yen. Nissan Motor shares jumped 2% to 903 yen after announcing its third quarter operating profit came in above the market forecasts at 78.7 billion yen.
The Cabinet Office released Japanese machinery orders on Wednesday, showing Japan's core private-sector machinery orders slumped 15.7% on the month in December, giving up the gains in the previous two months (+9.3% in November and +0.6% in October). Machinery orders are widely regarded as a leading indicator of corporate capital investment, since they typically increase if businesses are expanding their operations. The government report also forecast core machinery orders will fall 2.9% in the January-March quarter from the previous one.
In Australia, shares in Sydney market advanced for fifth consecutive session after upbeat trade data from China and an optimistic economic outlook from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 55.60 points to 5310.10, while broader All Ordinaries grew by 52.50 points to 5319.80.
Shares of Australian financials companies advanced, with Australia & New Zealand Banking Group leading rally, up 1.4% to A$30.98 on the top of 2.2% gain prior day after reporting a quarterly profit gain of more than 20% with fewer non-performing loans. National Australia Bank rose 0.8% to A$34.15 and Westpac Banking Corp 0.8% to A$32.50.
Commonwealth Bank shares jumped 0.4% to A$76.20 after announcing it recorded half-year profit of A$4.27 billion, up 14% on the previous corresponding period. CBA also pleased investors by lifting its interim dividend more than anticipated, up 12% from the previous half to A$1.83 per share.
Shares of materials and resources stocks lifted up after trade report from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed Australian exports to China grew 41.5% YoY in January 2014, as the world's second largest economy imported increasing volumes or iron ore, grain and liquefied natural gas.
Resources giant BHP Billiton added 1.8% to A$37.20. Main rival Rio Tinto added 2.2% to A$68.10. Oz Minerals soared up 12.7% to A$3.83 despite reporting a full-year loss of $294 million.
Skilled Group stocks climbed 9.6% to A$3.09, as its result was in line with expectations. The Labour hire contractor said its half-year net-profit after tax declined 24.7% but saying things were set to improve this half.
Stockland Property Group shares jumped 4.8% to A$3.90 after uplift in residential sales helped buoy statutory profit by 34% compared to the first-half of 2013. The developer also lifted its forward earnings guidance.
The Westpac/Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index unexpectedly dropped 3% in February to 100.2, marginally above the line that shows optimists outweigh pessimists.
In New Zealand, equities on the New Zealand stock market rose, as some good earnings reports cheered investor sentiments. SkyCity Entertainment Group met guidance with first-half earnings hurt by a strong kiwi dollar. Blue chip Fletcher Building led the advance. By the provisional closing, the NZX 50 Index gained 21.089 points, or 0.4% to 4869.972. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 20 fell and seven were unchanged.
Among NZ blue chips, New Zealand's biggest listed company Fletcher rose 2.8% to NZ$9.41, near a three-month high. Contact Energy was unchanged at NZ$5.20 and Telecom was unchanged at NZ$2.39.
SkyCity rose 1.4% to NZ$3.65. The Auckland-based company reported a net profit NZ$66.4 million, in line with guidance of NZ$65 million to NZ$68 million but down about 8% from a year earlier. With casinos in Adelaide and Darwin it said the high kiwi dollar and soft consumer spending on both sides of the Tasman had impacted on profits.
In China, Mainland China stock market registered fourth wins in row on the back of positive trade data. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index provisionally finished 0.3% higher at 2109.95.
Meanwhile, improvement in the liquidity condition and a break in initial public offerings provided some campaign to investors. The People's Bank of China said it will continue a prudent monetary policy and adjust liquidity supply with a combination of tools such as open-market operations, deposit reserve rates and rediscount rates. A pause in IPOs also boosted the market as data from the China Securities Regulatory Commission showed no companies will get listed until March.
Also, risk sentiments encouraged by JPMorgan Chase & Co prediction that Chinese stocks will probably rally as much as 20% within weeks. JPMorgan recommended a trading buy of China equities in its report released on Monday, based on seasonality and all-time low valuations. The JPMorgan strategist expected a 15-20% market rebound in the coming weeks, once growth stabilizes due to seasonality and the market's focus switches to structural reforms. The JPMorgan recommended stocks related to health-care, clean energy and environmental protection that may benefit from economic reforms. JPMorgan said Chinese banks will get a boost from low valuations, large dividends and high return on equity.
The Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology stated on Monday that revenue from online finance services, including third-party payment and online P2P (peer to peer) credit, totaled 20 billion yuan (US$3.3 billion) in 2013, a 40% annual growth.
The China's National Energy Administration announced plans on Tuesday to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in its overall energy consumption to 10.7% this year in an effort to further improve its energy mix. Non-fossil fuels took up 9.8% of China's total energy use in 2013, up 0.4 percentage point's year on year, it said. The 12th Five-Year (2011-2015) Plan set a target of non-fossil fuels accounting for 11.4% of the country's energy consumption by 2015. The NEA plans to increase installed capacity of non-fossil fuels to 33% of total installed capacity this year. Doing so will reduce coal consumption to below 65% of total energy use.
In Hong Kong, shares in city's market extended winning streak for second consecutive day, with heavyweight stocks of developers, financials, and resources companies leading the gains. The benchmark Hang Seng Index provisionally finished 322.81 points higher at 22285.79.
Overseas Land & Investment, up 7.5% to HK$22.30, after the company said its January contract sales more than doubled from the previous month. Country Garden Holdings Co added 4.5% to HK$4.65 and Shimao Property Holdings jumped 5.93% to HK$18.22. Local developers rose across the board. New World (00017) and Henderson Land (00012) put on 3.6% and 3.1% to HK$9.72 and HK$42.7. Cheung Kong (00001) and Hutchison (00013) also gained 2% and 3.4% to HK$116.6 and HK$102.5.
Dairy stocks also ended higher after China's largest dairy producers China Mengniu Dairy Co. announced plan to sell HK$5.15 billion worth of shares to Danone, the world's largest yogurt maker. Mengniu shares surged 3% to HK$37.95. Among its local rivals, China Modern Dairy Holdings rose 4.16% to HK$4.01 and Yashili International Holdings improved by 3.5% to HK$4.44.1 and Yashili International Holdings improved by 3.5% to HK$4.44.
In Singapore, shares of the Singapore market closed with modest gains as buying in Asian stocks supported the sentiments. However, the gains in Singapore stocks yet again lagged the spurt seen in other major indices in Asia as a cautious undertone remained in place.
The benchmark Singapore stock index, Strait Times added just 6.35 points or 0.20% though, closing at 3029.10. The index had dropped to a 14 month low in last week before edging up cautiously.
Financials stayed pressed as the investors worried about recent regulatory changes. On Friday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Singapore Exchange proposed new measures aimed at strengthening the securities market, such as setting minimum trading prices and shortening the settlement cycle from three to two days by 2016.The banking major DBS ended at S$16.41, up 0.18% on the day while the OCBC bank dropped 0.21%. Among other major stocks, SingTel shed 0.28% on the day.
In India, key benchmark indices rose for a second consecutive day, as blue chips rallied in line with higher global stocks, while Reliance Industries recovered from steep falls in the previous session that were seen as excessive.
The 30-share Sensex closed session at 20,448.49, up 85.12 points or 0.42%. The Sensex has risen 114.22 points or 0.56% in two sessions from 20,334.27 on 10 February 2014. Among BSE Sensex sectors, capital goods, banking, and oil and gas stocks were leading the rise. On the other hand, the metals, realty, power and FMCG sectoral indices were in negative territory.
Indian index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.48% to Rs 817.45.
BPCL edged higher in volatile trade after the company reported a massive loss for Q3 December 2013. The stock rose 1.49% at Rs 364.80. The company reported a net loss of Rs 1088.94 crore in Q3 December 2013 as compared with a net profit of Rs 1647.57 crore in Q3 December 2012. The company's total income rose 3.58% to Rs 65018.42 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The Q3 result was announced during trading hours today, 12 February 2014.
Oil India rose 1.21% to Rs 461.05. The company's net profit declined 3.97% to Rs 902.96 crore on 5.37% growth in total income to Rs 3052.37 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The Q3 result was announced during trading hours today, 12 February 2014.
Tata Steel lost 4.14% on weak sequential Q3 results. The company's consolidated net profit dropped 45.1% to Rs 503.24 crore on 0.25% fall in total income to Rs 36754.38 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q2 September 2013. The Q3 result was announced after market hours on Tuesday, 11 February 2014.
Ambuja Cements fell 1.49% to Rs 158.50 after the company said during market hours that pursuant to a notice received from the Ministry of Environment and Forest, the mining operation at the company's Himachal Pradesh plants has been kept in abeyance.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, South Korea's KOSPI index added 0.2%. Taiwan's Taiex index grew 0.95%. Malaysia's KLSE Composite rose 0.08%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite grew 0.58%.
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