Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Asia Markets: Asia stocks trade mostly higher, as Japan jumps

By V. Phani Kumar and Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) ? Japanese stocks led broad gains for Asian markets on Monday as exporters rode higher on the back of the yen?s extended weakness, while mainland Chinese shares underperformed amid concerns of a structural economic slowdown.

Japan?s Nikkei Stock Average /quotes/zigman/5986735 JP:100000018 +1.43% led gains with a 1.3% advance, extending a 2.2% pop Friday.

Major exporters were once again rallied in Tokyo as the dollar /quotes/zigman/4868099/sampled USDJPY -0.1326% ?rose to the mid-?81 range, briefly touching a seven-month high, on hopes a possible change of Japanese government will push greater monetary easing. The euro /quotes/zigman/4868097/sampled EURJPY +0.0386% ?closed in on the ?104 mark.

The yen?s recent drop has come amid expectations that elections slated for December will place opposition leader Shinzo Abe as Japan?s next prime minister. Abe has strongly supported more monetary easing measures, suggesting Saturday he may seek to have the central bank underwrite Japanese infrastructure bonds.

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A more relaxed monetary stance by the Bank of Japan to pull the country from long-running deflation, and the resulting improvement in yen-liquidity, were also seen as positive for the rest of the region.

?Japan?s ills run deep. ... But that may not stop politicians from pushing the Bank of Japan to steer a far more aggressive course. Pressure on the country?s central bank has been building for quite some time, and it looks at last to have reached critical mass,? said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economics at HSBC.

Meanwhile, South Korea?s Kospi /quotes/zigman/1652118 KR:SEU +0.93% ?improved by 1%, Hong Kong?s Hang Seng Index /quotes/zigman/2622475 HK:HSI +0.13% advanced 0.4%, Australia?s S&P/ASX 200 /quotes/zigman/1653884 AU:XJO +0.57% ?climbed a modest 0.2%, and Taiwan?s Taiex /quotes/zigman/1565586 XX:Y9999 -0.01% ?inched up 0.1% in choppy trade.

On the downside, China?s Shanghai Composite Index /quotes/zigman/1859015 CN:000001 -0.38% ?fell 0.5%.

?We think the new [Chinese] leaders will also be more tolerant towards the ?new normal? rates of growth in China, and structural reforms will be critical for growth sustainability,? Barclays analysts led by Yiping Huang wrote in a note to clients.

?The recent economic data point to activity recovery ongoing in China, and external uncertainty remains the biggest downside risk to Chinese growth,? they said.

Major movers

In Tokyo, Toyota Motor Corp. /quotes/zigman/199438 JP:7203 +1.35% /quotes/zigman/199376/quotes/nls/tm TM +2.28% ?advanced 1.8%, Hitachi Ltd. /quotes/zigman/193274 JP:6501 +2.76% ? /quotes/zigman/193283/quotes/nls/hthif HTHIF +0.76% ?added 2.3%, and Canon Inc. /quotes/zigman/192200 JP:7751 +4.45% ? /quotes/zigman/192225/quotes/nls/caj CAJ +3.37% ?rose 3.7% on the back of the weakened yen.

Honda Motor Co. /quotes/zigman/193651 JP:7267 +0.42% ? /quotes/zigman/193599/quotes/nls/hmc HMC +3.36% ?underperformed slightly with a 0.9% advance after a Nikkei business news report Saturday that the firm had raised its Japan sales target by 16% for the fiscal year ending in March.

Airline shares were among outperformers in Sydney, with Qantas Airways Ltd. /quotes/zigman/154565 AU:QAN +1.59% ? /quotes/zigman/154564/quotes/nls/qubsf QUBSF -1.56% ?rising 2%, extending gains following the announcement last week of a fresh stock buy-back plan. Qantas rival Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. /quotes/zigman/7611909 AU:VAH +2.06% /quotes/zigman/7962199/quotes/nls/vbhlf VBHLF +6.35% ?rose 1%.

Shares of Billabong International Ltd. /quotes/zigman/264916 AU:BBG +10.14% /quotes/zigman/264915/quotes/nls/bllaf BLLAF -4.24% soared 10.4% after the surfwear maker said the head of its U.S. division was considering a buyout of the company. Read: Billabong director mulls buyout of company.

/quotes/zigman/49613 135 15.50, +0.58, +3.89%
/quotes/zigman/2622475 HSI 21,185.54, +26.53, +0.13%

Kunlun Energy Vs. Hang Seng Index

One-year chart showing Kunlun's outperformance

Over in Seoul, shipbuilders outperformed, rebounding from recent losses, with STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. /quotes/zigman/1669652 KR:067250 +5.03% ?surging 5.6%, while Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. /quotes/zigman/259188 KR:042660 +2.83% added 3.1%.

In Hong Kong, shares of Kunlun Energy Co. /quotes/zigman/49613 HK:135 +3.89% ? /quotes/zigman/49615/quotes/nls/kunuf KUNUF +5.95% ? climbed 4.2% on news it will become the Hang Seng Index?s 50th constituent, with effect from Dec. 10.

Other energy shares also rallied in Hong Kong, as New York crude-oil prices extended gains to edge closer to $88 a barrel, with Cnooc Ltd. /quotes/zigman/29647 HK:883 +0.63% /quotes/zigman/274848/quotes/nls/ceo CEO +2.30% ?and PetroChina Co. /quotes/zigman/21986 HK:857 +0.39% ? /quotes/zigman/257868/quotes/nls/ptr PTR +0.38% ?climbing 0.8% each.

On the downside in Hong Kong, Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. /quotes/zigman/14335 HK:16 -2.45% ? /quotes/zigman/14337/quotes/nls/suhjf SUHJF +11.54% ?fell 0.3% as the stock began trading without rights to dividend.

On the Chinese mainland, property developers declined after official data released Sunday showed that average prices in 70 cities remained unchanged in October from the preceding month, amid worries controls on the sector may not be eased any time soon. Read: China new-home prices flat during October

Real-estate names weakened Shanghai trading following the data, as shares of Poly Real Estate Group Co. /quotes/zigman/1873491 CN:600048 -1.61% ?dropped 2.4% and Gemdale Corp. /quotes/zigman/1867160 CN:600383 -0.20% ?fell 1.6%.

Over in Shenzhen, China Vanke Co. /quotes/zigman/128694 CN:200002 -1.58% ? /quotes/zigman/530268/quotes/nls/cvkey CVKEY 0.00% ?? the nation?s top property developer ? slid 1.2%.

/quotes/zigman/5986735

JP : Nikkei Idx

Volume: 0.00

Nov. 19, 2012 3:00p

/quotes/zigman/4868099/sampled

US : ICAP Currencies

Volume: 0.0000

Nov. 19, 2012 1:38a

/quotes/zigman/4868097/sampled

US : ICAP Currencies

103.7800

+0.0400 +0.0386%

Volume: 0.0000

Nov. 19, 2012 1:38a

/quotes/zigman/1652118

KR : South Korea

Volume: 346.01M

Nov. 19, 2012 3:01p

/quotes/zigman/2622475

HK : HangSeng Ind

Volume: 0.00

Nov. 19, 2012 2:23p

/quotes/zigman/1653884

AU : Australia: Sydney

Volume: 0.00

Nov. 19, 2012 4:11p

/quotes/zigman/1565586

XX : Taiwan

Volume: 2.66B

Nov. 19, 2012 1:33p

/quotes/zigman/1859015

CN : China: Shanghai

Volume: 33.94M

Nov. 19, 2012 2:23p

/quotes/zigman/199438

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 3,370.00

+45.00 +1.35%

Volume: 8.21M

Nov. 19, 2012 3:00p

Market Cap

?11464.60 billion

Rev. per Employee

?65.90M

/quotes/zigman/199376/quotes/nls/tm

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 522,255

Nov. 16, 2012 4:07p

Market Cap

$141.07 billion

Rev. per Employee

$835,720

/quotes/zigman/193274

JP : Japan: Tokyo

Volume: 40.35M

Nov. 19, 2012 3:00p

Market Cap

?2044.25 billion

Rev. per Employee

?29.20M

/quotes/zigman/193283/quotes/nls/hthif

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 4,162

Nov. 16, 2012 2:13p

/quotes/zigman/192200

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 2,817.00

+120.00 +4.45%

Volume: 11.87M

Nov. 19, 2012 3:00p

Market Cap

?3597.16 billion

Rev. per Employee

?17.61M

/quotes/zigman/192225/quotes/nls/caj

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 1.18M

Nov. 16, 2012 4:02p

Rev. per Employee

$224,003

/quotes/zigman/193651

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 2,602.00

+11.00 +0.42%

Volume: 7.29M

Nov. 19, 2012 3:00p

Market Cap

?4693.41 billion

Rev. per Employee

?48.40M

/quotes/zigman/193599/quotes/nls/hmc

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 958,170

Nov. 16, 2012 4:06p

Rev. per Employee

$613,604

/quotes/zigman/154565

AU : Australia: Sydney

Volume: 13.65M

Nov. 19, 2012 4:43p

Rev. per Employee

$468,199

/quotes/zigman/154564/quotes/nls/qubsf

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 713.00

Nov. 16, 2012 11:46a

Rev. per Employee

$468,199

/quotes/zigman/7611909

AU : Australia: Sydney

Volume: 102.32M

Nov. 19, 2012 4:10p

/quotes/zigman/7962199/quotes/nls/vbhlf

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 155.00

Nov. 13, 2012 12:00a

/quotes/zigman/264916

AU : Australia: Sydney

Volume: 9.86M

Nov. 19, 2012 4:13p

Market Cap

$354.42 million

/quotes/zigman/264915/quotes/nls/bllaf

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 56,600

Nov. 16, 2012 3:12p

Market Cap

$324.67 million

/quotes/zigman/1669652

KR : South Korea

? 6,890.00

+330.00 +5.03%

Volume: 717,990

Nov. 19, 2012 3:00p

Market Cap

?529.83 billion

/quotes/zigman/259188

KR : South Korea

? 21,800.00

+600.00 +2.83%

Volume: 927,300

Nov. 19, 2012 3:00p

Market Cap

?4057.48 billion

Rev. per Employee

?1.14B

/quotes/zigman/49613

HK : Hong Kong

Volume: 30.97M

Nov. 19, 2012 2:23p

Market Cap

HK$120.08 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$2.40M

/quotes/zigman/49615/quotes/nls/kunuf

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 56,000

Nov. 16, 2012 10:25a

Market Cap

$120.08 billion

/quotes/zigman/29647

HK : Hong Kong

Volume: 19.74M

Nov. 19, 2012 2:22p

Market Cap

HK$713.45 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$53.38M

/quotes/zigman/274848/quotes/nls/ceo

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 68,038

Nov. 16, 2012 4:02p

/quotes/zigman/21986

HK : Hong Kong

Volume: 24.57M

Nov. 19, 2012 2:23p

Market Cap

HK$1938.81 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$4.70M

/quotes/zigman/257868/quotes/nls/ptr

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 126,744

Nov. 16, 2012 4:08p

Market Cap

$250.11 billion

Rev. per Employee

$605,650

/quotes/zigman/14335

HK : Hong Kong

Volume: 3.97M

Nov. 19, 2012 2:22p

Market Cap

HK$298.46 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$1.97M

/quotes/zigman/14337/quotes/nls/suhjf

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 152.00

Nov. 16, 2012 1:23p

/quotes/zigman/1873491

CN : China: Shanghai

Volume: 24.80M

Nov. 19, 2012 2:23p

Market Cap

?79.66 billion

/quotes/zigman/1867160

CN : China: Shanghai

Volume: 20.97M

Nov. 19, 2012 2:23p

Market Cap

?22.85 billion

/quotes/zigman/128694

CN : China: Shenzhen

Volume: 1.46M

Nov. 19, 2012 2:22p

Market Cap

HK$112.82 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$3.82M

/quotes/zigman/530268/quotes/nls/cvkey

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau. Michael Kitchen is Asia editor for MarketWatch and is based in Los Angeles.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B40760154-31E3-11E2-A56A-002128040CF6%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

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