HONG KONG News: A strong rally on Wall Street spurred by positive economic data in the United States and China helped Asian markets power ahead on Tuesday.
Commodities stocks were the main gainers as crude oil pushed well past the 80 dollar mark on the back of upbeat sentiment over the global recovery as well as the onset of winter in the northern hemisphere.
Tokyo shares closed up 0.25 percent at 10,681.83, while Hong Kong finished 2.09 percent up at 22,279.58.
Singapore was up 0.89 percent at 2,920.28, an 18-month high.
“Overall sentiment is upbeat,” Tsuyoshi Kawata, senior strategist at Nikko Cordial Securities in Japan, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Shanghai closed 1.18 percent up on 3,282.18 and Sydney was 0.98 percent higher at 4,924.30, pushed by resources firms thanks to the rally in crude.
However Seoul bucked the trend, closing 0.33 percent lower on concerns about earnings prospects for local exporters as the South Korean won gained against the greenback.
Hours after the Tokyo market closed a Kyodo News report said that finance minister Hirohisa Fujii had offered to resign over health reasons but had been asked by Premier Yukio Hatoyama to stay on.
Questions have surrounded the 77-year-old Fujii since he was rushed to hospital last week with fatigue.
On Monday Wall Street jumped 1.50 percent on the first day of trade for the New Year as dealers welcomed December manufacturing data showing the strongest pace of activity by US industry since April 2006.
The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index, also known as the purchasing managers index (PMI), climbed to 55.9 in December from 53.6 in November, for a fifth consecutive month of expansion. Any number above 50 indicates growth.
That followed news on Monday that two PMI surveys in China had shown strong growth.
“After the pace of global expansion in manufacturing activity cooled in November it has accelerated again in the final month of 2009, raising hopes that growth in 2010 will be much better than last year,” NAB Capital analysts wrote in a note.
“This has buoyed stock markets, pushed commodity prices higher and increased the likelihood that global economic growth will continue to exceed that in the US by a comfortable margin, weighing on the greenback.”
In London trade Tuesday, New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, was up 31 cents at 81.84 dollars a barrel in the afternoon. Brent crude gained 41 cents to 80.23 dollars.
Reports that Russia had cut fuel supplies to Belarus helped pushed up prices overnight, despite a denial from Minsk, dealers said.
The dollar fell back slightly as the positive economic outlook led investors to seek out riskier plays. In Asian trade the greenback fell to 91.79 yen, from 92.53 in New York late Monday.
In Hong Kong gold was at 1,127.50 US dollars an ounce, up from Monday’s close of 1,108.00 dollars.
In Japan, troubled Japan Airlines (JAL) was given a boost when 10,700 of its 16,000 workers agreed to a cut in their pensions, lifting a big burden on the carrier.
However, only about 3,000 of its 9,000 retirees accepted a cut, while the government warned the airline could still face bankruptcy.
JAL shares closed up 2.3 percent at 90 yen after a 31.3 percent surge on Monday following the government’s pledge to double a state-funded loan to the cash-strapped carrier.
Elsewhere, Wellington stocks ended 1.18 percent stronger at a 15-month high of 3,268.19, while Manila added 0.78 percent to 3,028.46 and Kuala Lumpur rose 0.98 percent to 1,288.24. Jakarta added 1.16 percent to 2,605.27 and Taipei closed flat at 8,211.40.
In Bangkok, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index also ended flat at 732.11 points.
Indian shares closed up 0.73 percent, their third straight day of gains led by metal and commodity stocks.
The 30-share benchmark Sensex closed up 127.51 points at 17,686.24, a 21-month-high, with India’s largest aluminium producer Hindalco up 7.39 percent or 12.05 rupees to 175.2.
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