Asia Markets

Dikutip dari advfn Newsdesk untuk Saham Indonesia (Belajar Analisa Saham Indonesia).

The major markets across the Asia-Pacific region advanced on Thursday, taking cues from Wall Street, where the major indices ended in positive territory despite concerns over corporate earnings on optimism that the economy, which has seen a slowdown in the downward momentum, will turn direction and start recovering earlier than expected.


Speculation that the Japanese government is close to announcing a $154 billion stimulus package to revive the economy and a decision by the Bank of Korea to keep interest rates frozen at 2% on indications that the fall in the economic activity has moderated of late also generated positive sentiment.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index gained 3.74% or 321.05 points to close at 8,916, and the broader Topix Index for all First Section Issues advanced 26.55 points to 842.

On the economic front, core machine orders in Japan unexpectedly rose 1.4% in February compared to the previous month, the government said on Thursday, marking the first increase in five months. The increase compares to analysts' expectations for a 6.9% decline following the 3.2% fall in the previous month. On an annual basis, core machine orders fell 30.1%, a smaller drop when compared to forecast for a 36.7% decline.

Automakers ended higher following an announcement by the U.S. Treasury Department that automakers General Motors and Chrysler have launched auto supplier support programs backed by up to $5 billion in U.S. government funds. Honda Motor gained 1.67%, Isuzu Motors rose 9.52% and Toyota Motor gained 4.27%.

Oil stocks also saw significant buying interest. Financials also ended in positive territory following reports that the major banks in the U.S. would pass the stress test. Mitsubishi UFJ soared 6.97%, Mizuho Financial surged 10.05%, Sumitomo Mitsui advanced 5.25%and Resona Holdings gained 5.47%.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gained 52.10 points, or 1.44% to close at 3,672, and the broader All Ordinaries index advanced 50 points or 1.40% to close at 3,617.

On the economic front, Australia's jobless rate jumped 0.5 percentage points to a seasonally adjusted 5.7% in March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today. The March jobless rate represented a 5-year high.

In the resources sector, index leader BHP Billiton gained 2.11%, and Rio Tinto advanced 1.87%. Gold miners ended weaker. Lihir Gold fell 0.66%, Sino Gold lost 1.92% and Newcrest Mining slipped 0.03%. Oil-related stocks gained on rising crude oil prices. Woodside Petroleum advanced 1.39%, Oil Search edged up 1.92%, and Santos added 0.36%. However, bank stocks ended on a mixed note.

In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI Index gained 4.30% or 54.28 points to close at 1,316. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics advanced 4.13%. Among other technology stocks, Hynix Semiconductor added 0.61%, LG Electronics advanced 3.68%, and LG Display gained 2.86%. Financial and oil stocks also advanced.

In the auto space, Hyundai Motor soared 8.80%, and Kia Motor gained 5.90%. However, Ssangyong Motor, which announced a restructuring plan yesterday, declined 4.02%.

The central bank of South Korea kept the 7-day repo rate unchanged at 2.0% at the conclusion of the monthly policy meeting today. The Bank stated the fall in economic activity has somewhat moderated of late. Analysts were anticipating the rates to be kept unchanged.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index advanced 2.95% or 426.55 points to end at 14,901. The market witnessed a broad based rally, with financial, property, resource and China-related stocks showing notable strength.