JAPAN, KOREA AND CHINA MARKET SHOWN SOLID RESILIENCE THIS WEEK
The Nikkei share average rose 0.66% to close at 29,066.18, while the broader Topix advanced 0.80% to 1,962.65. Cyclical and technology stocks tracked a strong finish on Wall Street, although the gains were capped by concerns over the country’s economic recovery and amid a cautious outlook of U.S. equities.
For the week, the Nikkei gained 0.35% to climb just above the 29,000-mark, which market participants said has become a psychological barrier as Japan’s outlook of an economic recovery remains uncertain.Cyclical shares rose, with oil and coal developers and steel makers leading the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 sector sub-indexes. Technology stocks also advanced, with Tokyo Electron rising 0.7%, Advantest jumping 1.5%, Fanuc gaining 1.66%.Shares of Panasonic jumped 4.93% as a filing made by the conglomerate showed it had sold its entire stake in Tesla last fiscal year. Crisis-ridden Toshiba ended 0.62% lower after rising up to 1.4% as shareholders voted out its board chairman and another director at its annual general meeting. Mazda Motor Corp, up 8.7%, gained the most on the Nikkei, followed by Kobe Steel rising 4.8%.Eisai, down 3.96%, was the biggest loser, followed by Mitsui OSK Lines losing 1.34 % and Cyber Agent I down 1.29%.
South Korean shares closed at a record high on Friday and posted a sixth straight weekly gain. The KOSPI closed up 16.74 points, or 0.51%, at 3,302.84, extending gains to a fourth straight session. For the week, it gained 1.07%, the sharpest in three weeks and following a 0.57% gain a week earlier. Among heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 0.19% and 1.98%, respectively, while battery maker LG Chem added 0.84%. Foreigners were net buyers of 245.7 billion won ($217.95 million) worth of shares on the main board.
The won ended at 1,127.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.64% higher than its previous close at 1,134.9.It rose 0.41% for the week, rebounding from a 1.90% decline in the previous week. In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,127.8 per dollar, up 0.3% from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,127.8. In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.16 points to 109.98.The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 4.4 basis points to 1.428%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 4.9 basis points to 2.106%. ($1 = 1,127.3300 won).
China stocks jumped on Friday to snap three straight weekly losses, powered by gains in heavyweight financial firms. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 1.6% to 5,239.97, while the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.2% to 3,607.56.Financial firms underpinned the market, with the CSI300 financials index jumping 1.7%.The CSI SWS securities index rose 3.1%, as Guangdong Golden Dragon Development Inc, BOC International China and East Money Information Co Ltd advanced between 7.2% and 10%.
For the week, the CSI300 added 2.7% and the SSEC gained 2.3%, both ending a three-week losing streak. The weekly gains come as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed that the U.S. central bank would not raise interest rates too quickly based only on the fear of coming inflation.
