Asia Finishes Higher

Ivaylo
21 Nov, 2006
New York City

Asian stocks recovered on Tuesday, as property stocks supported Hong Kong and Singapore, while the Nikkei in Japan gained slightly as large-caps rebounded from the losses of previous session. Advances by technology companies in Japan were held back by declines in banking and construction stocks, while a drop in South Korean auto makers countered a rise in the telecommunications sector. Australia and New Zealand also gained, as well as Taiwan.

[R]7:30AM Asian stocks finished higher Tuesday, HK gained on property.[/R]
Asian markets finished mostly higher on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 Index added 0.05% to finish at 15,734.14. Tech stocks gained after an overnight advance by U.S. counterparts. Casio Computer reported a 3.4% rise and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines moved 2.8% higher.

Banking stocks mostly declined as the results for major banks in the first fiscal half showed slow recovery in their main lending business. Sumitomo Trust and Banking lost 1.2% and Mizuho Financial Group sank 2.19%.

In Hong Kong, shares closed higher on a strong performance by Chinese property stocks. The Hang Seng Index gained 0.3% to 19,008.30. China Resources Land soared 6.9% after announcing the $350.6 million acquisition of land from its parent, which Mr. Chow said could almost double the holdings in its portfolio. Guangzhou Investment rose 4.1%, on the second day after it said it was buying two large development sites in the center of Guangzhou.

The Straits Times Index in Singapore gained 0.9% to 2,796.26. Singaporean property group Keppel Land rose as much as 4% while fellow developer City Developments rose as much as 3% following an upbeat Deutsche Bank report.

In Seoul, telecommunication shares led the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, 0.3% higher to 1,405.90. Among telecommunication stocks, SK Telecom gained 1.4%, while its smaller rival KT Freetel moved up 0.2%. KT rose 1.3%. Korea Exchange Bank, rose 2.8% on hopes that Lone Star may propose high dividends for KEB shareholders.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.7% to 5,358.00 and New Zealand NZX-50 Index added 0.3% to 3,821.19. Taiwan Weighted Price Index gained 0.7% to 7,309.69, while China Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1% to 2,037.55.

[R]6:30AM European stocks advance on Tuesday helped by banks and export stocks.[/R]
European markets were higher on Tuesday. By mid morning, the FTSE 100 in London climbed 0.1% to 6,208.4, Frankfurt Xetra Dax gained 0.2% to 6,463.39, and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.2% to 5,467.1.

Advancers

Swatch Group, the Swiss watchmaker, led the advancers after the Federal Customs Office of Switzerland said exports of watches rose 15.5% year-on-year in October. Swatch shares gained 2.9%.

Richemont, the maker of Cartier watches, gained 1% after Goldman Sachs, which rates the company conviction buy, raised its full-year earnings per share estimates.

Interdealer broker Icap Plc announced that its first-half adjusted profit rose 23% to 120.8 million pounds, with revenue up 22% to 542.8 million pounds after growth in the interdealer market, in particular in energy, transport, credit and equity derivatives products. Profit for the year is expected to be in line with analysts'' expectations, it added.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the Italian bank, rose 2.1% after French insurer CNP Assurances said it was interested in bidding for a stake in MPS Vita, Monte Paschi’s insurance division. Shares in CNP were 0.6% higher.

British Land led a rally in property stocks after it reported a better-than-expected rise in net asset value, an important performance measure in the sector. Its shares gained 0.9%. Stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse increased 1.6% following recent M&A moves in the sector.

Decliners

On the downside, German tyre maker Continental fell 1.4% after loss-making Russo-Dutch rival Amtel-Vredestein announced the two companies were in talks about a possible joint venture.

Oil and gold

Crude oil gained on trader speculation that rising demand will cut U.S. fuel inventories and the OPEC may agree to lower production for a second time in two months. Crude oil for January delivery rose as much as 40 cents, or 0.7%, to $59.20 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the NYME. It was at $59.05 in early trading in London. Brent crude oil climbed as much as 40 cents, or 0.7%, to $59.38 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Gold traded in London at $625.00 bid per troy ounce, up from $624.10 late Monday.


Currencies

The U.S. dollar was lower against other major currencies in European trading Tuesday morning. The euro was quoted at US$1.2817, up from $1.2813 late Monday. The British pound was quoted at $1.8981, up from $1.8966. The dollar bought 118.01 Japanese yen, down from 118.09.

[R]5:00AM Platinum futures soared on Monday, gold and silver dipped.[/R]
January platinum contract gained $42.20 to end at $1,234.30 an ounce on the NYME. December palladium rose $5.10 to $323.05 an ounce. December gold settled down 40 cents at $622.10 a troy ounce, while December silver gave up 6 cents to $12.74. The most-active December copper contract slipped 1.60 cents to settle at $3.0415 per pound.

January crude oil declined 17 cents to $58.80 a barrel. December heating oil advanced 0.19 cent to $1.6708 a gallon. December gasoline edged 1.32 cents higher to close at $1.5543 a gallon. December natural gas settled down 16.0 cents at $8.019 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, December Arabica coffee futures closed 2.05 cents higher at $1.1515 a pound, with most-active March up 1.80 cents at $1.1975. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for March moved 0.14 cent higher to finish at 11.49 cents a pound, with May up 0.12 cent at 11.62 cents.