Market Update
Equities in Asia advanced in early trade, following a strong finish for U.S. stocks Friday, positive political developments in Italy and robust economic data in Japan.
At the time of writing, the Hang Seng was up 2.4% in Hong Kong. Japan’s Nikkei, China’s Shanghai Composite and India’s Sensex rose between 0.9% and 1.6%. Australia’s All Ordinaries gained 0.5%.
A change at the political helm in Italy with Mario Monti taking over as prime minister and the passage of an austerity budget, coupled with strong economic data in Japan, with quarterly growth rising 1.5%, boosted shares.
Stocks on the Move
Financial stocks rose early in Japan. Nomura Holdings jumped 6.2% following an over-10% decline last week. Sumitomo Mitsui, Mizuho and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial were up between 2% and 2.2%.
Export-focused technology and auto stocks witnessed buy, thanks to a weak yen. Sony, Panasonic, Nissan and Mazda advanced about 1.6% each.
In Hong Kong and China, property, financials, commodity and bank stocks climbed. Oil firm CNOOC was up 3.3% on the Hang Seng and China Eastern Airlines surged 4.1%, while in Shanghai, realtor Gemdale Corp, China Construction Bank and metal firm Jiangxi Copper added 2.1% to 2.6%.
Indian stocks rose broadly in line with global markets, with metal stocks rising over 1.5%. In news-driven movers, Sun Pharma was up 3.2% following its quarterly earnings while crisis-stricken Kingfisher Airlines surged 4.3% after losing over 10% in the past few sessions amid concerns about it debt position.
In Sydney, miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto slipped 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively while in financials, National Australia Bank, ANZ Bank and Westpac Banking rose 0.3% to 0.5%.