Asian shares lifted by bargain-buying, Wall St. rally
HONG KONG—Asian markets rose on Monday following a record close on Wall Street, and as investors picked up bargains after broad losses last week.
The dollar advanced against the yen but the gains were capped by expectations the US Federal Reserve will keep its monetary easing policy in place well into the new year.
Tokyo jumped 2.19 percent, or 307.85 points, to 14,396.04 thanks to the pick-up in the dollar. Sydney was up 1.02 percent, or 55.1 points, at 5,441.4, while Seoul closed 0.68 percent higher, adding 13.75 points to 2,048.14.
Shanghai ended flat, edging up 0.91 points to 2,133.87 while Hong Kong added 0.48 percent, or 108.24 points, to end at 22,806.58
The gains follow a lacklustre performance in the region last week following worse than expected jobs figures out of the United States that indicate the economy is not as strong as first thought.
Traders Monday took their cue from Wall Street, whose three main indexes posted healthy gains on Friday thanks to upbeat corporate results.
Amazon and Microsoft announced better than expected earnings for the July-September quarter, while there were also solid results from Procter & Gamble and UPS.
The Dow rose 0.39 percent, while the broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.44 percent to a new record Friday. The Nasdaq tacked on 0.37 percent.
US shares, like most global stocks, have been given some support from traders betting the Fed will delay winding down its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying stimulus for some time.
There had been a widespread belief it would begin tapering by December at the latest, but analysts say the weak jobs data and this month’s government shutdown has made that unlikely.
The prospect of a continuation of the Fed’s pump-priming—which sees vast sums of dollars flooding the financial system—has weighed on the greenback in recent weeks, although it picked up a tad in Asia Monday.
In afternoon Tokyo trade the unit bought 97.67 yen compared with 97.43 yen in New York Friday, while the euro was at $1.3811 and 134.76 yen against $1.3805 and 134.50 yen.
“Amid growing expectations of continued Fed stimulus, the dollar will likely remain under pressure in the near term,” Naoya Nishimura, a strategist at Resona Bank, told Dow Jones Newswires.
On oil markets New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in December, was down 18 cents at $97.67 in afternoon trade. Brent North Sea crude for December rose 37 cents to $107.30.
Gold rose to $1,350.24 at 1100 GMT compared with $1,340.35 on Friday.
In other markets:
— Mumbai fell 0.55 percent, or 113.24 points, to 20,570.28 points.
Private Future Retail fell 6.90 percent to 72.20 rupees while diversified conglomerate ITC fell 3.63 percent to 327.65 rupees.
— Bangkok lost 0.36 percent, or 5.26 points, to close at 1,449.62.
Coal producer Banpu fell 0.85 percent to 29.25 baht while Bangkok Bank rose 0.99 percent to 205 baht.
— Jakarta ended up 0.21 percent, or 9.69 points, at 4,590.54.
Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper gained 0.69 percent at 1,450 rupiah, while miner Aneka Tambang lost 1.88 percent at 1,570 rupiah.
— Kuala Lumpur’s main index gained 0.05 percent, 0.82 points, to close at 1,818.39.
UEM Sunrise lost 3.9 percent to 2.50, Felda Global Ventures Holdings eased 2.2 percent to 4.40 while Petronas Gas added 2.1 percent to 24.30 ringgit.
— Singapore gained 0.08 percent, or 2.61 points, to 3,207.85.
Agribusiness company Wilmar International rose 0.29 percent to Sg$3.46 while United Overseas Bank was down 0.19 percent at Sg$20.75.
— Taipei finished up 0.73 percent, or 61.21 points, at 8,407.83.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. gained 2.34 percent to Tw$109.5 while leading food producer Uni-President Enterprise was 2.21 percent higher at Tw$55.5.
— Manila was closed for village elections.
— Wellington was closed for a public holiday.
