Asia Pacific share market kicked off the new week with firm note on Monday, 08 August 2016, as risk sentiments build on a strong lead from Wall Street last Friday sparked by news that the US economy added more jobs than expected in July. China trade data are mixed but don't hurt risk sentiments.
Regional stocks attracted buying from the beginning of Monday's trading after the U.S. stock market gained ground Friday thanks to stronger-than-expected growth in U.S. nonfarm payrolls in July. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 255,000 from the previous month, against the market's projection for a rise of 180,000. The strong report boosted the odds of a US interest rate hike by the end of the year.
China's trade surplus widened in July as exports improved while imports continued to lose steam, according to latest government data. Yuan-denominated exports rose 2.9% year on year to 1.22 trillion yuan (US$183 billion) last month, faster than June's 1.3% pace, data released by the General Administration of Customs showed yesterday. But imports fell even faster by 5.7% to 873 billion yuan in July. Imports shed 2.3% in June. China posted a July trade surplus of 342.8 billion yuan, up from June's 311.2 billion yuan and a jump of 34% from the same period a year earlier.
Among Asian bourses
Japan Market surges 2.4%
The Japan share market closed sharply higher, as investor sentiment was bolstered by yen depreciation against greenback, gains in Wall Street on Friday, and aggressive stimulus measures unveiled by the Bank of England. In addition, the market was underpinned by hopes for purchases by the Bank of Japan of exchange-traded funds. The 225-issue Nikkei stock average rose 396.12 points, or 2.44%, to finish at 16,650.57. The Topix index of all first-section issues ended up 25.63 points, or 2%, at 1,305.53.
Export-oriented issues attracted purchases thanks to the weaker yen. A weaker yen bolsters the overseas profitability of Japan's exporters, and tends to increase demand for their shares. Toyota shares advanced 3.32% to 6,055 yen and Nissan tacked on 2.60% to 994 yen, while factory robot maker Fanuc surged 3.76% to 17,225 yen. Game maker Nintendo rebounded after a recent slump. Other major winners included clothing store chain operator Fast Retailing and mobile phone carrier SoftBank Group
Banking giants Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group also soared, gaining 5.39% to 531.4 yen and 5.26% to 3,378 yen, respectively.
Oil-linked shares also traded higher. Energy explorer Inpex jumped 3.17% to 822 yen and refiner JX Holdings gained 1.24% to 367.4 yen.
By contrast, another mobile phone carrier, NTT Docomo, railway operator JR East and daily goods producer Kao were downbeat. Drug makers Peptidream, Ono Pharmaceutical and San-ten Pharmaceutical also met with selling.
Australia ASX200 rises 0.7%
Australian share market kicked off the new week with firm footing, as appetite for risk assets improved after S&P 500 and Nasdaq made record highs last week. China trade data are mixed but don't hurt risk sentiments. At close of trade, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 40.40 points, or 0.73%, to 5537.80. The broader All Ordinaries inclined 40.10 points, or 0.72%, to 5625.70. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Australia Stock Exchange by 607 to 483 and 366 ended unchanged. The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was down 3.05% to 13.876 a new 52-week low.
The banks and financial stocks ended higher. ANZ Banking Group inclined 1.8% to A$25.70, Commonwealth Bank of Australia 1.4% to A$77.20, Westpac Banking Corp 0.8% to A$30.44, and National Australia Bank 1.4% to A$26.24. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank shares jumped 4.32% to A$10.15 after the regional bank booked a 0.6% rise in annual cash profit, slightly ahead of analyst consensus.
Energy stocks were up. Woodside Petroleum advanced 1.9% to A$27.41 and Origin Energy grew 0.5% to A$5.66. Santos inclined by 0.4% to A$4.68 and Oil Search added 1.9% to A$7.39.
Materials stocks were also added the most strength to bourse, with Rio Tinto adding 1.2% to A$50.12 and Fortescue Metals rising 2.4% to A$4.67, while BHP Billiton added 2.3% to A$20.48.
China Stocks up 0.93%
Mainland China stock market advanced, as a surge in coal stocks and sustained interest in property shares offset the impact of worse-than expected trade data. The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen gained 0.91%, to 3234.18, while the Shanghai Composite Index inclined 0.93%, to 3004.28 points and the Shenzhen Composite index closed 1.06% higher at 1962.26 points.
Coal stocks soared up after reports that borrowings by seven major coal miners in Shanxi will be rolled over to medium-to-long-term special loans, as the government aids the struggling sector. Major coal miners including Xishan Coal and Electricity Power, Luan Environmental Energy and Yanzhou Coal all jumped nearly 10%.
Meanwhile, the real estate sector maintained strong upward momentum, gaining 3%, as drama and share acquisitions involving Vanke continued to stir excitement. Vanke, which soared around 17% in the past two sessions on news of share purchases by rival Evergrande surged another 4%.
By contrast, gold stocks dropped, following sharp falls in the metal's price, as the dollar rose after US data showed employment increased more than expected in July, raising the probability of a US rate hike this year.
Hong Kong Stocks gain 1.57%
The Hong Kong stock market ended higher, following another record on Wall Street after traders welcomed strong US jobs data. The benchmark Hang Seng Index inclined 348.67 points, or 1.57%, to 22494.76 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, benchmark measure of performance of mainland China enterprises, rose 145.04 points, or 1.59%, to 9276.56. Turnover increased slightly to HK$60.8 billion from HK$54.6 billion on Friday.
Property developers remained robust despite strong US jobs rekindled rate hike hopes. New World (00017) put on 2.6% to HK$9.36. CK Property (01113) jumped 2.5% to HK$56.5. BofAML raised its target price for CKP to HK$61.
Energy stocks closed mixed as crude oil prices softened. Sinopec (00386) slipped 0.2% to HK$5.56, but CNOOC (00883) edged up 0.2% to HK$9.26 even though Credit Suisse downgraded the stock.
CR Land (01109) surged 4.1% to HK$20.7 after Citi Research named it the top pick in the sector. Hang Lung Properties (00101) also shot up 4% to HK$17.2.
Although, China's trade data were disappointing, shipping stocks rose in tandem with the market. CSCL (02866) soared 6% to HK$1.75. Sinotrans (00598) climbed 4.4% to HK$3.81.
Indian Market extends recent gains
Key benchmark indices logged gains on first trading day of the week as positive cues from global stocks aided the latest upmove on the domestic bourses. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 104.22 points or 0.37% to settle at 28,182.57. The Nifty 50 index gained 28.20 points or 0.32% to settle at 8,711.35.
Hero MotoCorp rose in volatile trade after reporting good Q1 result. The stock rose 0.17% to Rs 3,440. The company's net profit rose 18.13% to Rs 883.10 crore on 7.84% rise in total income to Rs 8131.04 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.
Idea Cellular lost 2.64%. The company's consolidated net profit slumped 74.21% to Rs 220.41 crore on 7.22% rise in total income to Rs 9552.44 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.
Hindalco Industries rose 3.69% to Rs 149.10 after the company's US subsidiary Novelis reported strong Q1 June 2016 earnings on Friday, 5 August 2016
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: New Zealand's NZX50 added 0.6% to 7348.30. South Korea's KOSPI index climbed 0.65% to 2031.12. Taiwan's Taiex index grew 0.64% to 9150.26. Malaysia's KLCI was up 0.52% to 1672.68. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index added 0.7% to 5458.98. Singapore's Straits Times index added 1.5% to 2870.78.
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