Market Update
Asian markets started the week higher Monday on thin volumes as the Japanese markets remained shut for the Emperor's birthday.
The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1% while the Hang Seng gained 0.5%. The Sensex added 0.4% while the All Ordinaries was up 0.6%.
Last week Friday, the U.S. markets closed at all-time highs with the Nasdaq at its highest level in more than 13 years, boosted by a better-than-expected economic growth report.
The Hang Seng will close early Tuesday and will remain closed on Wednesday and Thursday for Christmas and Boxing Day holidays.
Stocks on the Move
Mainland Chinese shares were weighed by high borrowing costs with the benchmark seven-day repo rate jumping back above 8% in mid-morning trade in spite of reports Friday that the People’s Bank of China pumped in $49 billion into the financial system over three days.
Index heavyweight China Mobile rose a percent in Hong Kong after the announcement of its much-awaited deal with Apple’s to sell its iPhones.
FIH, formerly Foxconn International Holdings, jumped over 5% on news it would partner with Blackberry in developing phones for India and other high-growth markets.
Fashion house Prada fell 5.2% on a Bloomberg report that quoted a company statement saying it may miss its full-year revenue projections due to weak demand.
HKT which gained last week fell 2.4% on news that Hong Kong regulators were examining its purchase of CSL from Telstra.
In Mumbai, Hindalco led with a 3% gain, followed by BHEL, up 2.8%. Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, ONGC, L&T, SSLT, Dr. Reddy’s Lab, and Tata Motors all rose in a range between 1% and 1.6%.
Telstra traded flat while index leader BHP Billiton edged 0.2% lower.
In banks, CBA, NAB, and WBC were all up 1.1% each.