Asia Pacific stock market rebounded on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, on the back of bargain hunting following a string of recent losses, with a weakening yen lifted up Tokyo market, while Australian market ended flat after the Reserve Bank chief Glenn Steven hinted at further interest rate cuts and Chinese market advanced after 17 billion yuan liquidity injection.
However, gains on the upside were limited as traders refrained from big moves ahead of a wave of economic data due later in the week. The Fed is due to announce the outcome of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, while monthly jobs report is due on Friday. Also, results from two separate surveys on Chinese manufacturing activity in July are due out Thursday.
The Fed is currently buying $85 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds a month in a move that has kept long-term rates near record lows and supported economic recovery. The program has been a boost to stock markets, since low interest rates make equities and commodities a more attractive investment.
Markets are keen for clues as to when the US central bank will wind down its massive stimulus program, which has been helping prop up global equity market.
Japanese shares rebounded sharply with the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.53% and Topix index rose 1.78%, registering first advance in five days despite a drop in industrial output for June. Investors chased for bottom hunting following downward correction in previous four sessions that dragged the benchmark index to 1-month low. Meanwhile, the yen depreciation against the greenback further propelled up buying spree.
The dollar fetched 98.40 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, up from 97.89 yen in New York on Monday. The euro edged up to 130.43 yen from 129.85 yen.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday that Japan's industrial production unexpectedly fell a seasonally adjusted 3.3% in June from the level in May. For the April-June quarter, however, industrial output gained 1.4% from the previous quarter. According to a corporate survey included in the data, companies expect output to rise 6.5% in July and then decrease 0.9% in August. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry kept unchanged its assessment of the indicator, saying output is gradually recovering.
Japan's jobless rate fell to 3.9% in June, dropping to the lowest point in more than four years, a government survey showed Tuesday. The rate fell from 4.1% in May to 3.9%, the best reading since 3.8% posted in October 2008, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Australian stock market closed flat after recouping initial weakness, thanks to comment from Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index edged up 0.9 point to 5047.2, while the broader All Ordinaries slipped 1.6 points to 5026.3.
Governor Glenn Stevens spoke in Sydney today, giving the strongest indication yet that interest rates may be cut again at the August meeting. Governor Stevens said, "There are clearly signs of policy working in this respect, though not to date, by so much that we see a serious impediment to further easing, were that to be appropriate from an overall macroeconomic point of view."
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that approvals to build or renovate houses and apartments declined 6.9% in June from May. In May, approvals fell a revised 4.3% from a previously recorded 1.1% fall. Permits to build houses fell 1.2% from a month earlier, while approvals for apartments, townhouses and other dwellings fell 12.6% from the previous month.
China share market rebounded on the back of bargain hunting following steep losses in prior four sessions. Meanwhile, liquidity injection from the central bank also underpinned buying. The key Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.7% to 1,990.06 points. The advance in Chinese equities was driven by gains in the beaten-down banking, properties, mining and energy sectors. But, market gain was narrowed by the decline of IT firms, media companies and medical device producers.
The People's Bank of China, the central bank, injected 17 billion yuan into the country's money market via yield of 4.4% using seven-day reverse repurchase agreements. This is the first liquidity injection through an open market operation in five months.
Indian stock market declined after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today, 30 July 2013, said its priority has shifted to managing the currency volatility and in turn to support the macro-financial stability rather than to try driving growth amid easing inflation. The Sensex was provisionally 1.2% down to 19357.43.
Elsewhere, Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.26%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index increased 0.48%. South Korea's Kospi Index (KOSPI) added 0.%, while Taiwan's Taiex Index gained 0.98%. Indonesia's JKSE Composite rose 0.61%. New Zealand's NZX50 Index dropped 0.61%. Malaysia's KLSE Composite fell 0.21%.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
