Headline equities of the Asia Pacific market closed mostly higher on Thursday, 07 July 2016, on following a positive session on Wall Street overnight after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting crushed expectations for a rate hike this year, while post-Brexit fears seemed to ease after rattling global markets once again this week.
The minutes of the Fed's June policy meeting released on Wednesday showed that policymakers decided to keep interest rate hikes on hold as they assessed the Brexit impact. Fed officials agreed that it was prudent to wait for additional data before considering another rate hike, according to minutes.
Among Asian bourses
Australia Market gains on positive offshore lead
Australian share market finished the session higher on the back of gains in commodity prices and a positive session on Wall Street overnight, with shares of energy, materials, realty, property trusts, and financials sectors leading gains. At close of trade, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 30.40 points, or 0.58%, to 5227.90. The broader All Ordinaries rose 26.30 points, or 0.5%, to 5311. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Australia Stock Exchange by 682 to 393 and 273 ended unchanged. The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 4.83% to 18.349.
The energy and resources sector shares surged on the back of gains in commodity prices, with Woodside gaining 0.8% to A$26.55 and Oil Search rising 2.3% to A$5.69. BHP Billiton inclined 2% to A$19.08, meanwhile main rival Rio Tinto was up 1.2% to A$47.38 and iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group grew 1.1% to A$3.83.
Shares of banks and financial companies advanced on bargain hunting, though investors are still wary of further capital controls squeezing revenue and the potential for an inquiry into financial institutions' conduct. Commonwealth Bank of Australia added 0.7% to A$72.50, Westpac Banking Corp 0.5% to A$28.34, and ANZ Banking Group 0.4% to A$23.06, while National Australia Bank fell 0.2% to A$24.48.
Shares in infrastructure firm CIMIC tumbled 16% to A$30.46, after Morgan Stanley warned the group's reported profits could be exceeding underlying profits by more than 30 per cent.
Shares in gaming giant Tabcorp was down 5.9% to A$4.32, after NSW Premier Mike Baird announced a ban on greyhound racing in the state, starting next year. The decision came after a state-sponsored report found "widespread cruelty" in the industry.
Japan Market dips as yen gains
The Japan share market declined for third straight session, dragged down by yen appreciation against the US dollar. The yen climbed for a third day to near its highest since November 2013 after minutes from the Federal Reserve showed less urgency to tighten interest rates given the uncertainty over the global economic outlook, sapping demand for the dollar. Total 28 out of 33 TSE sectors declined, with Real Estate, Construction, Chemicals, Information & Communication, Nonferrous Metals, Retail Trade, and Mining issues being major losers while Electric Power & Gas issue was notable gainers. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 102.75 points, or 0.67%, to 15276.24. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 8.11 points, or 0.66%, to 1226.09.
Real estate developers and construction stocks led declines among the 33 Topix industry groups. Aeon Co. fell 8.2%, the most on the Nikkei 225, after the supermarket operator posted a loss in the first quarter from a year ago.
Yamato Holdings Co. rose 3.6% after Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. raised its rating to overweight, saying it's now poised to book a string of record profits as a rapid expansion in online second-hand good sales boosts demand for parcel deliveries.
Telecommunication companies were also lower. KDDI Corp. dropped 2%, while SoftBank Group Corp. lost 1.5%.
China Stocks closed mixed
Mainland China stock market closed little changed, as investors feared further weakness in the yuan and instability in Europe, one of the country's biggest export markets. News of a rise in non-performing loans at the country's banks also rattled investors. But continued expectations of more stimulus measures for the struggling economy helped to keep losses in check. Sector performance was mixed with consumer stocks, resources, and healthcare posting gains, while banks slid on worries about growing bad loans. The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen dropped 0.21%, to 3209.95, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell slightly 0.01%, to 3016.85 points.
Shares of banks and financials declined on news of a rise in non-performing loans at the country's banks. Outstanding non-performing loans (NPLs) in China's vast banking sector exceeded the two trillion yuan ($299.21 billion) mark at the end of May, a senior banking regulator official said on Thursday.
China's foreign-exchange reserves rose by $13.426 billion in June to $3.2052 trillion, the People's Bank of China said Thursday. The increase compares with a decline of $27.93 billion in May, and is the biggest gain in value since April 2015, according to previously released data.
Hong Kong Stocks bounces on bottom fishing
The Hong Kong stock market closed up in quiet trading, as investors chased for bottom fishing on following the 78-point rally of the Dow overnight after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting crushed expectations for a rate hike this year, while post-Brexit fears seemed to ease after rattling global markets once again this week. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rebounded 211.63 points, or 1.03%, to 20706.92 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, benchmark measure of performance of mainland China enterprises, grew 97.85 points, or 1.15%, to 8600.99. Turnover decreased to HK$49.7 billion from HK$60.7 billion on Wednesday.
Shares of energy stocks led the rise with China Shenhua surging 4 percent to HK$14.14 after CLSA upgraded its rating for the coal mining firm to "outperform", and target price to HK$15.5. PetroChina and Sinopec Corp rose more than 2 percent.
Telecom stocks surged after Daiwa Research sees better operational outlook for China telecom sector. It upgraded its ratings for China Unicom (00762) and China Telecom (00728) to "buy". Both stocks rose 3.2% and 3.8% to HK$8.12 and HK$3.57. China Mobile (00941) rose 2% to HK$88.4. The research house tweaked down its target price to HK$108.7, but named it as top pick in the sector.
Indian indices eke out tiny gains
Gains for index heavyweights ITC, HDFC and HDFC Bank outweighed losses for IT stocks, with the two key benchmark indices registering minuscule to small gains. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 34.62 points or 0.13% to settle at 27,201.49. The Nifty 50 index rose 1.95 points or 0.02% to settle at 8,337.90. IT stocks declined on concerns arising from the recent steep losses for the British pound against the dollar in the wake of the UK's vote last month to leave the European Union (EU) known as Brexit.
Pharma major Lupin jumped after the company announced that it has received notification that the inspection carried out by the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) in July 2015 at its Goa facility has been completed and that the agency has issued Establishment Inspection Reports (EIR). Axis Bank eked out small gains after the Union Cabinet approved increase in the ceiling on foreign investment in the private sector bank to 74% of equity capital on a fully fungible basis from 62% earlier.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: New Zealand's NZX50 rose 0.43% to 7007.52. South Korea's KOSPI index added 1.1% to 1974.08. Taiwan's Taiex index gained 0.8% to 8640.91. Singapore's Straits Times index slipped 0.1% to 2862.17. Malaysia and Indonesia share market closed for national holiday.
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