Asia shares mostly up after Wall St. record

A man looks at an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Friday, May 23, 2014. Asian markets mostly rose Monday, May 26, following a record close on Wall Street that was fueled by upbeat US data. AP PHOTO/KOJI SASAHARA

HONG KONG—Asian markets mostly rose Monday following a record close on Wall Street that was fuelled by upbeat US data, while Tokyo was boosted by a weaker yen.

The euro sat around a three-month low against the greenback following big gains for Euro-sceptic candidates in European Parliament elections, while traders were also spooked by a fall in an index of German business confidence.

Tokyo shares closed up 0.97 percent, or 140.35 points, to finish at 14,602.52 and Sydney rose 0.36 percent, or 20.013 points, to 5512.8 while Seoul slipped 0.34 percent, or 6.82 points to 2,010.35.

Chinese stocks ended higher in afternoon trade Monday, as remarks by President Xi Jinping about developing electric vehicles boosted the sector, while government moves to loosen restrictions on the property market in some cities and open up more projects to private investment set a positive tone, analysts said.

Shanghai added 0.34 percent, or 6.91 points, to 2,041.48 while Hong Kong was flat, edging down 2.68 points to 22,963.18.

Regional markets last week enjoyed broad advances after a sharp improvement in Chinese manufacturing activity and positive comments about interest rates from the US Federal Reserve.

US shares rallied on Friday after the Commerce Department said new single-family homes were sold at an annual rate of 433,000 units in April, well above analysts’ forecast of 415,000.

The news added to a growing sense that the world’s biggest economy is well on the recovery track. The S&P 500 advanced 0.42 percent to 1,900.53, ending above the 1,900 barrier for the first time.

The Dow rose 0.38 percent and the Nasdaq gained 0.76 percent in quiet trade as investors wound down for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Euro extends losses

Market-watchers will be keeping an eye on the release later in the week of key US data, including gross domestic product growth and housing figures.

On currency markets the dollar benefited from rising confidence in the global economy, making fresh inroads against the yen.

The greenback bought 101.93 yen in the afternoon, against 101.92 yen in New York and well up from 101.72 yen earlier Friday in Tokyo.

The euro stood at $1.3630 and 138.89 yen, from $1.3632 and 138.91 in New York on Friday.

The single currency was dealt a blow on Friday after Germany’s Ifo business climate index for May dropped to 110.4 from 111.2. The slip followed a gain the previous month and underscores ongoing concerns about the European economy.

Markets are also increasingly convinced that the European Central Bank will take steps to loosen monetary policy at its June meeting as it looks to kickstart growth and inflation.

Anti-Europe parties saw a surge in support at the parliamentary polls, with France’s far-right National Front and Britain’s UKIP leading the rout of mainstream groups.

While the sceptics will hold about 140 seats in the 751-seat assembly, the results raise concerns they could gum up its process or try to hold Parliament hostage, working against the European Union from within.

Oil prices edged lower after Ukraine’s presidential election passed off without major incident and saw a victory for the pro-Western candidate.

Chocolate baron Petro Poroshenko won outright and immediately vowed to end a bloody pro-Russian uprising that has tipped the country toward civil war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said he would respect the outcome of the election.

The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in July, fell 26 cents to $104.09 per barrel in afternoon trade. Brent North Sea crude for July delivery dropped 54 cents to $110.00.

Crude prices have been rising in tandem with the events in Ukraine as the country is a major conduit for Russian oil and gas exports to Europe, and any escalation of the conflict could disrupt supplies and send prices soaring.

Gold fetched $1,293.04 an ounce at 1050 GMT compared with $1,291.65 late Friday.

In other markets:

— Bangkok edged down 0.61 percent, or 8.55 points, to close at 1.388.29.

Coal producer Banpu lost 0.85 points to 29.25 baht while PTT fell 2.63 percent, or 8 baht, to 296 baht.

— Kuala Lumpur’s main stock index lost 6.42 points, or 0.34 percent, to 1,862.80.

Plantation giant IOI lost 2.0 percent to 4.95, while SapuraKencana Petroleum fell 0.5 percent to 4.07 ringgit. Telekom Malaysia gained 1.6 percent to 6.31 ringgit.

— Jakarta closed down 0.18 percent, or 9.13 points, at 4,963.93.

Palm oil company Astra Agro Lestari lost 0.56 percent to 26,850 rupiah, while cigarette maker Gudang Garam rose 0.05 percent to 53,525 rupiah.

— Mumbai’s benchmark share index rose 0.10 percent or 23.53 points to 24,716.88 points.

Shree Cements gained 6.38 percent to 6,930.00 rupees while auto-maker Mahindra & Mahindra rose 6.23 percent to 1,230.30 rupees.

— Manila slid 0.31 percent, or 20.91 points, to 6,790.42.

MegaWorld Corp. added 1.11 percent to 4.57 pesos, Manila Electric Co was unchanged at 263.80 pesos and Philippine Long Distance Telephone dipped 0.07 percent to 2,900.00 pesos.

— Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.15 percent, or 4.86 points, to 3,282.88.

United Overseas Bank gained 0.67 percent to Sg$22.50 while Singapore Telecommunications was also up 0.78 percent to Sg$3.87.

— Taipei was up 0.31 percent, or 27.90 points, at 9036.12.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. closed 0.82 percent higher to Tw$123.0 while Hon Hai Precision was 0.54 percent off at Tw$92.5.

— Wellington was flat, edging up 2.31 points to 5,153.68.

Fletcher Building rose 0.44 percent to NZ$9.20 and Warehouse Group was off 0.29 percent at N$3.44