Asia markets mostly gain, China surges after break
BEIJING — Most Asian markets rose Friday with Chinese shares surging nearly 5 percent after a weeklong holiday and Seoul advancing amid news the central bank left interest rates at a record low. European shares were modestly higher.
Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and European bourses rose after improved U.S. jobs and retail sales data overnight. Investors are also looking to a slew of corporate earnings reports for more clues about the strength of the global economic recovery.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 183.92 points, or 1.9 percent, to 10,016.39, helped by a weaker yen and with gamemaker Nintendo surging on an analyst upgrade. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 6.54 points, less than 0.1 percent, at 21,499.44.
The Tokyo session was briefly dented by news Japan’s August core machinery orders, a key indicator of company spending, rose just 0.5 percent, short of the consensus forecast of 2.3 percent and fueling concern about company spending despite improving global demand.
“Japanese machinery orders data were quite disappointing,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist for SJS Markets in Hong Kong. “Markets were hoping for a stronger rebound,” Kowalczyk said. “There are concerns about the strength of global demand for capital goods.”
South Korea’s Kospi added 1.9 percent to 1,646.79 after its central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low, saying it would stick to an “accommodative stance” for now. Korea is believed to be close to following Australia in raising rates, but the central bank said inflation does not appear to be a problem.
In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 4.8 percent to 2,911.72 as markets reopened following a weeklong holiday. Elswhere, Singapore’s Straits Times Index was fractionally lower and Australia’s index fell 0.3 percent.
As trading got underway in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC-40 both gained 0.2 percent. Stock futures pointed to gains Friday on Wall Street. Dow Jones futures were up 20, or 0.2 percent, to 9,769.
On Wall Street Thursday, the Dow rose 61.29, or 0.6 percent, to 9,786.87.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 7.90, or 0.8 percent, to 1,065.48, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 13.60, or 0.6 percent, to 2,123.93.
A closely watched gauge of sales at major U.S. retailers showed an increase of 0.1 percent for September, compared with a 1.0 percent drop a year ago. It was the first monthly gain in the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally since July 2008.
The Labor Department reported new claims for jobless benefits fell to 521,000 last week, down from 554,000 the previous week and better than analysts had expected. It was the lowest level since early January. Continuing claims fell to 6.04 million, better than the slight increase analysts had expected.
Oil prices fell to near $71 a barrel in Asia, giving up part of the previous day’s big gains, as the U.S. dollar rebounded. The November contract was down 48 cents at $71.21; it rose $2.12 to $71.69 on Thursday.
In currency markets, the dollar rose to 89.21 yen from 88.37 yen. The euro fell to $1.4717 from $1.4791.
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