ASIA EQUITY GAINED MOMENTUM THIS WEEK WHILE CANADA AND AUSTRALIA HOLD STEADY
The Nikkei 225 Index rallied 1.81% to close at 29,069, while the Topix gained 1.86% to 2,024 on Friday, snapping three weeks of losses and outperforming peers in the Asia Pacific region. The strong rally was boosted by technology heavyweights after taking the lead from Wall Street amid robust corporate outlooks and expectations of upward earnings revisions. Tokyo Electron lifted the index after advancing 2.9%, other notable gainers on volume were robot maker Fanuc (5.61%), Lasertec Corp. (9.53%), Keyence (3.66%) and Sony Group (2.67%). Meanwhile, a Reuters article reported that the Bank of Japan is likely to cut its growth forecast for the current fiscal year, citing supply constraints, and also likely to trim down its consumer inflation forecast for the year ending in March.
Chinese shares ended higher on Friday but remained cautious amid economic slowdown concerns and policy easing expectations, with the Shanghai Composite inching up 0.4% to close at 3,572, while the Shenzhen Component was up by 0.52% to 14,416. Investors speculated that policymakers might need to ease monetary settings amid risks from a slowing economy while balancing with issues of persistent inflation. Traders now await China GDP growth figures for Q3 due on Monday to gain insight on potential policy responses. The financial and info-tech sectors provided support to the market, along with energy and coal stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.7% higher at 7,362 on Friday, gaining for a second week in a row, with broad participation from different sectors of the economy. Miners and energy stocks extended the previous session’s gains amid rising energy, metal and gold prices. Consumer-related and travel and aviation stocks also boosted the market on news that New South Wales removed home or hotel quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travelers starting November 1st. Qantas pushed 2% higher amid an earlier than scheduled restart of international flights and a land sale agreement, other gainers were Webjet (4.05%), Flight Centre (3.77%) and Regional Express Holdings (6.12%). Meanwhile, The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index rose 0.5% to a record high of 20,928 on Friday, and book a 2.6% weekly gain after strong US corporate earnings reports fueled optimism about the economy and oil prices continued to climb. WTI crude closed the week at a fresh 7-year high above $82 a barrel on prospects of a supply deficit in the next few months due to soaring demand after the easing of coronavirus-related travel restrictions. On the data front, Canadian wholesale sales recorded a positive change for the first time in 3 months.
The BSE Sensex was up by 568.9 points or 0.94% to close at a record high of 61,305.95 on Thursday, gaining for the sixth consecutive session and tracking the Asian markets. Investors digested the release of recent FOMC meeting minutes which confirmed the Fed is ready to taper bond purchases from mid-November. Also, the market got support from record monthly inflow of over USD 1 billion funds in September from retail mutual fund investors, as per data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India. 22 out of 30 stocks on BSE Sensex ended in green mostly from banks, capital goods and consumer goods sectors. Among the individual stocks, Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) led the gains (+2.89%) amid speculation over its tie up with E-commerce giant, Amazon; followed by HDFC Bank (+2.86%) and Power Grid (+2.51%). On the other hand, Tata Consulting Services (TCS) fell the most (-1.22%). On the week, the BSE booked around 2% gain. The stock market is closed for Dussehra holiday on Friday.
