Asian markets head for end to volatile week

HONG KONG—Asian markets built on the previous day’s gains and headed into the weekend on a positive note Friday as traders were buoyed by news that Donald Trump’s tax cuts had moved a step closer.

House Republicans pushed through a landmark overhaul of the tax system on Thursday, providing the base for a record close in the Nasdaq on Wall Street at the end of a volatile week for global equities.

The plan, hailed by Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, would mark the biggest changes in three decades and see huge reductions for corporations and individuals.

Those gains filtered through to Asia, where Tokyo ended 0.2 percent higher, though an earlier rally was pared by a stronger yen.

Hong Kong added 0.8 percent and Sydney put on 0.2 percent. Singapore and Manila each piled on more than one percent, while Taipei gained 0.7 percent. Wellington and Bangkok were also well up, while Jakarta gained 0.7 percent to put in on course for a record close.

But Shanghai dipped 0.5 percent and Seoul was marginally lower.

The broad gains came at the end of a week that saw heavy selling fueled by profit-taking and dealers’ worries that a rally in recent weeks had gone too far, pushing valuations too high.

“If the Senate can get its bill passed and if President Trump does end up with something on his desk he can sign into law stocks in Asia, America, and globally should catch a strong updraft and bid tone,” said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader.

However, while the tax success in the House of Representatives came as a welcome boost, analysts warned there was still a long way to go for an agreement to get through the Senate.

The Republicans in the upper house have a wafer-thin majority and are already struggling to get all their members onside and there are worries the reforms could go the same way as the Obamacare repeal earlier in the year.

“Passing the legislation is a major win for President Trump but there is still work to be done if the bill is to make it through the US Senate,” Cai Lewis, senior adviser at ASR Wealth Advisers, said in a note.

Uncertainty about the reforms’ future dragged the dollar, which had rallied on the news in US trade.

The greenback was well down against the pound, euro and yen, while higher-yielding currencies including the Australian dollar, Korean won and Mexican peso were also stronger.

Regional energy firms were mostly up after this week’s big losses fueled by plunging oil prices but ongoing concerns about demand and warnings of higher stockpiles are keeping dealers on edge.  —AFP