Headline equities of the Asia Pacific market clawed back some of its recent losses on Friday, 08 May 2015, as investors chased for bottom fishing on signs global bond markets are stabilising after a big selloff. Risk sentiments underpinned further after a surprise election victory for the Conservatives kept David Cameron on course to return as Britain's prime minister. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.5% to 151.04. The measure was down around 1.2% this week, its second straight weekly decline.
But gains on the regional markets were limited on caution ahead of US jobs data later in the global day. The US government will unveil US nonfarm payrolls data for April 2015 today, 8 May 2015. The payroll data may give clues to the likely timing of an anticipated rate increase by the US Federal Reserve.
Among Asian bourses
Nikkei rebounds 0.45% from one-month low
Japanese share market finished the session higher, on the back of positive lead from Wall Street overnight, yen depreciation against the greenback, and some upbeat corporate updates. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 87.20 points, or 0.45%, to finish at 19379.19. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares ended higher 13.12 points, or 0.83%, up at 1587.76. The gauge gained 0.1% this week in trading shortened due to holidays.
Exporters stocks were mostly higher on the Tokyo market, as the greenback strengthened against the yen. The dollar was last quoted at Y120.09 after trading in the mid-Y119 range on Thursday. Stock in Nintendo Co rallied 7.2% to Y21155 after the company reported a swing to operating profit, raised its dividend and announced a deal with Universal theme parks to license its characters. Honda Motor Co jumped 2.3% to Y8279 after reporting an almost 12% rise in Chinese sales. Nissan Motor Co rose 1% to Y1235.50 despite it saw a 19% drop in China results. Toyota Motor Corp gained 0.8% to Y8279 ahead of its earnings report slated for after the close. Isuzu Motors added 0.9% to Y1615.50 on reports that the car and truck producer to report a milder-than-expected 2% drop in operating profit for the fiscal year ended in March.
Shares of Softbank Corp escalated 1.7% to Y7354 after news of its investment in electronics retailer Yamada Denki Co shares of which also rose 1.4% to Y497. Yamada Denki Co also forecasted an operating profit of 41.6 billion yen for this fiscal year.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries slumped 8.9% to Y2002 after reported a 34% drop in operating income to Y12.1 billion in the first quarter, below estimates for Y16.2 billion.
Australia market falls for fourth day
The Australian share market closed softer after erasing gain in late afternoon, registering fourth straight session of losing streak, after weak Chinese trade data. Among ASX sectors, shares of energy, mining, consumer goods companies were major losers, which overshadowed gains in blue-chips of realty, utilities and industrial players. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 1.10 points, or 0.2%, to 5634.60 while the broader All Ordinaries Index slipped 9.40 points, or 0.17%, to 5635.40. The All Ordinaries fell 2.8% during the week, while the ASX 200 dropped 3.1% for the week - its worst week since June 2013. Market turnover was relatively light, with 1.5 billion shares changing hands worth of A$4.67 billion.
Financial stocks were mostly down. Westpac Banking Corp added 0.4% to A$34.05, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 0.6% to A$82.64. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group dived 2% to A$32.35 as it trading ex-dividend. Shares of National Australia Bank dropped remained suspended following news of its capital raising and financials results, which included a 20% improvement in six-month net profit. Macquarie Group added 3.5% to A$79.18 after lifting its full year profit 27%, to A$1.6 billion, beating its own guidance.
Shares of mining companies declined after weak Chinese trade data, with resources giant BHP Billiton down by 1.9% to A$31.30. Rio Tinto was down 0.2% to A$58.43. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group was down 3.1% at A$2.50.
Weaker oil prices sent energy players lower, with Woodside Petroleum 3.6% down at A$33.80 and Oil Search down 3.3% to A$7.57. Origin Energy sank 3.3% to A$12.43 and Santos dropped 4.9% to A$8.59.
China market snaps three days slide, up 2.3%
Mainland China equity market closed higher for the first time in four consecutive sessions, due to bottom fishing across the sectors on reinforced expectations of fresh stimulus from Beijing after poor trade figures. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 93.70 points, or 2.28%, to finish at 4205.92 points, off an intraday high of 4206.86. The CSI300 index increased 88.31 points, or 1.98%, to 4558.40. For the week, the Shanghai index fell 5.3%, posting its worst performance since July 2010. The CSI300 index posted a weekly decline of 4%, the biggest loss in one and a half years.
The rebound in Mainland market came after steep selloff in recent session amid fears of regulatory crackdown on speculators over margin lending. String of articles published by China's state media warning about investment risk were also a major factor in the market recent decline. China's Securities Regulatory Commission is stepping up efforts to rein in informal financing channelsincluding margin financing, which brought in around funds valued at 1.7 trillion yuan ($270 billion).
Meanwhile bargain buying supported by poor trade figures which reinforced expectations that Beijing will deliver fresh stimulus. Chinese exports fell 6.2% in April, from a year earlier in yuan terms, after a drop of 14.6% in March, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Friday. Meanwhile, imports in April fell more than expected 16.1% in yuan terms from a year earlier, compared with a 12.3% decrease in March. Thus, China's trade surplus widened to 210.21 billion yuan in April from 18.16 billion yuan in March.
Total of nine out of 10 SSE industry groups ended higher, with information technology issue leading rally, with gain of 6.6%, followed by telecommunication services up 4%, industrials up 3.2%, utilities up 3%, healthcare up 2.5%, consumer discretionary up 2.2%, energy up 2.2%, consumer staples up 2.2%, and materials up 2.1%.
Hong Kong market gain ground after a six-day slump
The Hong Kong stock market rebounded, as investors chased for bargain buying after heavy selloff in previous six sessions, with shares of financials, realty, and industrial companies being major gainers. The benchmark index opened 267 points higher and saw its gains widen to 360 points at one stage on talks that the State Council has approved Shenzhen-HK Connect scheme and may announce it by the end of the month. The Hang Seng Index added 287.37 points or 1.05% to 27577.34, off an intra-day high of 27652.62 and day low of 27367.11. Turnover reduced to HK$139.13 billion from HK$161.6 billion on Thursday.
Shares in Chinese airlines soared after reports indicated the possibility of the government merging the three big listed, state-owned airline companies. China Southern Airlines Co jumped 11% to HK$7.17, Air China 8.6% to HK$9.14, and China Eastern Airlines Corp 9.1% to HK$5.65.
China Taiping shares jumped 9.5% to HK$31 on reports that the company has recently placed shares to Huateng Ma, chairman of Tencent (00700) and Yun Ma, founder of Alibaba.
Chinese online major Tencent Holdings rose 0.6% to HK$154 on tracking gain of its major rival Alibaba Group Holding in New York overnight on better-than-expected earnings results for the first quarter. Alibaba's two Hong Kong-listed units -- Alibaba Health Information Technology and movie production firm Alibaba Pictures Group -- surged 11% and 3.8%, respectively on their parent's earnings news.
Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa added 1.7% to HK$111.40, after it unveiled a plan to sell a 33% stake in its U.K. mobile operator for 2.77 billion British pounds ($4.2 billion) to a group of investors.
Sensex recovers from 2015 lows
Indian stock market rebounded as funds and retail investors went about creating fresh positions, driven by the government's decision to refer MAT issue to a high-level committee. The government yesterday, 7 May 2015, announced the setting up a committee to suggest ways to resolve the minimum alternative tax (MAT) dispute with foreign investors as well as some other tax issues. Decline in crude oil prices overnight and rupee's recovery against the dollar after a recent steep slide also helped boost sentiment on the domestic bourses. As per provisional figures, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 483.78 points or 1.82% at 27,082.89. The Nifty was up 134.20 points or 1.67% at 8,191.50, as per provisional figures.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) rose after the company reported Q4 results. Realty stocks edged higher. High volumes accompanied a sharp slide in Punjab National Bank counter after the state-run bank reported weak Q4 March 2015 results. Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) declined after reporting weak Q4 results.
Foreign portfolio investors sold Indian shares worth a net Rs 1360.69 crore yesterday, 7 May 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1158.02 crore yesterday, 7 May 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index fell 0.1% to 9692. South Korea's KOSPI lost 0.3% to 2085.52. New Zealand's NZX50 added 0.1% to 5735.35. Singapore's Straits Times index rose 0.6% at 3452.01. Malaysia's KLCI rose 0.1% to 1807.65. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index added 0.6% to 5182.21.
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