Market Update
Asian markets were up Thursday supported by an upbeat manufacturing report on China and a positive finish for Wall Street overnight.
The Nikkei gained 2.3%. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.4% while the Hang Seng added 0.7%. The Sensex moved ahead half a percent while the All Ordinaries rallied 1.1%.
Earlier, HSBC released a stronger-than-expected manufacturing report on China with its "flash" Purchasing Managers’ Index for May standing at 49.7, up from 48.1 in April. Economists also pointed to the output sub-index which came in at a four-month high at 50.3 as an encouraging sign. Mainland Chinese markets swung to gains following the data from a 0.3% loss earlier.
Stocks on the Move
Exporters were up after the dollar rebounded against the yen, rising above the 101 yen level after the minutes from the U.S. Fed’s latest meeting revealed the bank is focused on exiting quantitative easing.
In exporters, Sony gained %. Panasonic, Sharp, and Hitachi were all up over 2% each. Sony is scheduled to host a corporate strategy conference call later today.
Toyota, Honda, and Nissan also revved over 2% higher each while Mazda advanced 4.1%. Fuji Heavy lifted 5.1%.
Fanuc added 1.8% while Bridgestone was up 1.6%. Nintendo gained 2.5%.
Lenovo was down 0.3% in Hong Kong on some profit booking.
PetroChina climbed 1.1% after parent company CNPC struck a deal with Russia’s Gazprom ensuring itself a supply of natural gas for 30 years starting 2018.
Banks were strong gainers with ICBC up 1.8%, China Construction Bank up 1.6%, and AgBank up 1.8%. China Merchants Bank advanced 2.3% while Bank of Communications added 2.2%.
Coal India surged as it led the list of Sensex gainers, up 7.1%. The stock has rallied ever since the BJP was seen as wining the Indian elections on hopes of a recovery in its fortunes. Since his confirmation as the new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is now reportedly exploring the break-up of the state-owned giant as well as the opening up of the sector to foreign investment in order to boost production and cut imports.
Other gainers included Maruti Suzuki, up 4.7%, and SSLT, up 4.3%. NTPC and Tata Steel both strengthened 3% each while Bajaj Auto was up 2.8%. Tata Power and RIL were up over 2% each while M&M, L&T, Axis Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank, TCS, and Gail India all gained in a range between 1% and 1.7%.
In Sydney, James Hardie added 4.5% after results even as it declared a special dividend and an additional share buyback.
Woodside Petroleum climbed 1.8%. The company said it was still open to a deal, having pulled out of Israel’s Leviathan natural-gas project just yesterday.