HK Leads Asia Higher

Ivaylo
21 Mar, 2007
New York City

Asian markets ended mostly higher Wednesday, continuing their advance, with property shares giving Hong Kong a lift. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Markets in Taiwan and Singapore also posted gains, while in Australia the market ended slightly lower. South Korean shares ended virtually flat.

[R]10:00AM Asian markets ended mostly higher Wednesday with HK leading gainers.[/R]
Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday. The market in Japan was closed for public holiday. Hong Kong benchmark index Hang Seng Index rose 0.8% to 19,516.41. Property shares rose on expectations of strong 2006 financial results and hopes that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates. Hang Lung Properties rose 2.9%, Henderson Land gained 1.9% and Wharf Holdings advanced 1.1%.

The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 0.3% to close at 7,757.03 and Singapore''s Straits Times Index advanced 1.25% to finish at 3,155.69. In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.3% at 5,861.9 after hitting 5,906.7 in early trading.

South Korean shares ended flat as losses in LG.Philips LCD and LG Card countered strong gains by Hynix Semiconductor and shipbuilders. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, closed down 0.1%, at 1,442.85.

[R]9:00AM NY-7:00PM Mumbai Sensex surges Wednesday, ICICI Bank rallies.[/R]
The Sensex on BSE finished 239.94 points, or 1.89%, higher at 12,945.88. The market-breadth was not strong though. For 1,155 stocks that advanced, 1,370 declined and 103 remained unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex 24 advanced, while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 2,729.96 crore, lower than Rs 2,910.12 crore on Tuesday, while on NSE the turnover was Rs 5,839.09 crore, also lower than Rs 6,056.26 crore on Tuesday.

Economic news

Idea Cellular today signed an outsourcing deal with IBM valued at $600-$800 million (Rs 2,640 – Rs 3,520 crore). The 10-year pact is designed on an innovative risk-reward revenue sharing model and covers all of the existing operations and potential new additions of Idea. The contract starts from April 1, 2007 and will be completed in phases.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said on Wednesday it had reduced the fee paid by all telecoms users to fund loss-making rural network expansion by state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. Besides, the regulator also abolished the ADC on all outgoing international calls from a previous 0.8 rupees per minute.

Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram announced on Wednesday that the current cash squeeze in the banking system was due to the quarterly tax payments and it will ease in the coming days.

Earnings news

After trading hours on Tuesday, Nestle India reported a 15.7% decline in net profit in the December 2006 quarter to Rs 62.46 crore, compared to a net profit of Rs 74.16 crore for the same period the previous year.

Trading highlights

MindTree was the most-active stock with a turnover of Rs 204.70 crore followed by Reliance and Reliance Communications.

Advancers

Banking stocks led the advancers on renewed buying interest. The shares extended the rally on Tuesday for the second consecutive session. ICICI Bank was the major gainer in BSE. The stock gained 5.6% to Rs 870.3. State Bank of India gained 3.1% to Rs 982.2, and HDFC Bank rose 1.2% to Rs 966.

Telecom shares also rose after the decision of TRAI to reduce Access Deficit Charge, or ADC, to Rs 2,000 crore from Rs 3,200 crore for the next financial year. Bharti Airtel rose 3.2% to Rs 762 and Reliance Communication climbed 2.4% to Rs 410. The other market advancers in the Sensex were Hindustan Lever which rose 3.7% to Rs 190 and Reliance Energy jumped up 3.1% to Rs 491.

IT shares gained ahead of a robust set of March quarter results and some large order wins. Satyam Computer was up 1.8% to Rs 453.90, TCS gained 1.2% to Rs 1,268, Wipro added 1.5% to Rs 582 and Infosys advanced 2.1% to Rs 2,098. Index heavy Reliance Industries advanced 1.59% to Rs 1,342.

Decliners

Gujarat Ambuja led the decliners, plunging 4% to Rs 106. HDFC dropped 1.5% to Rs 1,543, and Ranbaxy slipped 1.2% to Rs 332. Grasim fell 0.9% to Rs 2,105.8 and Dr Reddy fell 0.2% to Rs 678.

[R]7:30AM European equities were broadly higher Wednesday on financials.[/R]
European markets were broadly higher on Wednesday morning. Frankfurt Xetra Dax was fractionally lower at 6,699.01, the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.1% to 5,505.61, and London FTSE 100 climbed 0.2% to 6,235.0. National benchmarks advanced in all of the 16 western European markets that were open except Ireland.

Advancers

Barclays, the third-biggest U.K. bank, gained 1.6% while ABN Amro, the largest Dutch bank, added 0.5%. Both companies agreed to some initial merger terms, for the takeover.

Goldman Sachs upgraded some of the banking sector including Royal Bank of Scotland, which climbed 1.5%, Santander, up 0.1%, and Bank of Piraeus, which added 0.5%. Intesa Sanpaolo, the Italian bank, gained 1.7% as two brokers started coverage of the stock. Sal Oppenheim started the stock with a buy rating, while Morgan Stanley resumed coverage with an overweight rating.

CNP Assurances SA advanced 3.7%. The biggest life insurer in France, reported a 55% rise in second- half net income to 875.9 million euros, or $1.2 billion, supported by lower taxes and investment gains. SAP AG, the world biggest business-management software maker, gained 0.8%. Valeo SA gained 1.8%. Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation on shares of third-largest maker of car parts in the Europe, to overweight from underweight.

Decliners

Bank of Ireland fell 1.6% after its forecast of a 22% rise in underlying earnings per share for the current year failed to please investors. Hochtief AG fell 2.3%. August von Finck, the biggest shareholder of the company, sold his entire 25% stake in the German builder.

Total, the French oil company, bucked the generally stronger trend in the sector after Christophe De Margerie, chief executive, was detained for questioning by police investigating alleged corruption in Iran. Total shares fell 0.2%

Gold and oil

Oil prices climbed in Asian trading Wednesday on expectations that the weekly U.S. oil inventory picture will show a decline in domestic supplies of gasoline and distillates such as heating oil. Crude oil for May delivery gained 25 cents to $59.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude contract for May delivery rose 23 cents to $60.43 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Gold in Asia traded near a two-week high as rising inflation concerns in the U.S. weakened the dollar. Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as $1.13, or 0.2%, to $659.92 an ounce and traded at $659.38. Silver for immediate delivery gained 3 cents, or 0.2 %, to $13.33 an ounce. Platinum gained $2 to $1,231 an ounce, while palladium fell $1 to $351.50 an ounce.

Currencies

The dollar was little changed against the euro before the Federal Reserve finishes a two-day meeting on interest rates policy. The dollar traded at $1.3307 against the euro in early trade. in London from $1.3318 in New York yesterday. It was at 117.73 yen from 117.29. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. The pound climbed to 1.4747 against the euro, from 1.4728 yesterday. Against the yen, it rose to 230.98 from 230.05. The pound rose to $1.9627 from $1.9609.

[R]6:00AM Cocoa rallies, gold and silver gain, oil advances on Tuesday.[/R]
Most-active May cocoa gained $86 to settle at $1,864 a metric ton, while April gold advanced $4.70 to $659 a troy ounce, and May silver rose 13.7 cents to $13.37. April platinum gained 60 cents to $1,235.30, while June palladium added $1.20 to $355.30. The most-active May copper contract rose 1.25 cent to settle at $3.0340 per pound.

The April crude oil contract, which expired Tuesday, advanced 14 cents to end at $56.73 a barrel, while the front month April gasoline lost 1.60 cent to finish at $1.9421 a gallon. Earlier in the day prices rose to $1.985 a gallon, the highest intraday price since Sept. 8. Front month April heating oil declined 1.97 cent to $1.6687 a gallon, while April natural gas settled up 6.3 cents at $6.910 per million British thermal units.

Arabica coffee futures settled down 0.95 cent at $1.0930 a pound, with July off 1.00 cent at $1.1215. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for May settled up 0.01 cent at 10.23 cents a pound, with July up 0.03 cent at 10.18 cents.