Market Update: Asian Equities

The Nikkei slipped into the red after trading higher much of the day Thursday while other Asian markets remained little changed

Rouhan Sharma 16 January, 2014 | 10:15AM
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The Nikkei slipped into the red after trading higher much of the day Thursday while other Asian markets remained little changed.

The Nikkei was down 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng were both up 0.3%. The Sensex slipped 0.1% while the All Ordinaries gained 1.2%.

Earlier Thursday, Japanese government data showed core machinery orders rose unexpectedly by 9.3% in November, soundly beating expectations for a mere 1.2% rise.

Also in the morning, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the economy is expected to continue to recover moderately.

Elsewhere in the region, data showed the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8% in Australia last month, in line with expectations.

Stocks on the Move

Tokyo Electric Power (9501) was up 2% following government approval of the power firm’s turnaround plan but pared those gains and was up just 0.2%.

Among the big movers, Sharp Corp. (6753) was up about 7%.

The upbeat machinery orders data was positive for equipment makers and Hitachi Construction Machinery (6305) lifted half a percent. Tadano was up 2.4% while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries gained 1.7%.

In auto, Nissan (7201) accelerated 2.1% while Honda was up a percent.

Index heavyweight China Mobile (00941) was up 0.7% in Hong Kong, a day before it begins selling the iPhones and after it said the pre-orders for the device has hit one million units already.

Telecom equipment shares also gained while shares of China Mobile’s smaller rivals fell sharply. China Unicom (00762) was down 2.4% while China Telecom was down 0.8%.

China South City Holdings (01668) skyrocketed a whopping 66% after the company said Tencent Holdings would invest about HKD1.5 billion for near about a 10% stake. Tencent Holdings was up 2.9%.

The Sensex erased early gains as the top loser Airtel (BHARTIARTL) dropped 4.8% after some brokerages downgraded some of the frontline telecom stocks. Other losers included Tata Motors (500570), ONGC, M&M, and ITC, all down in a range between 1.1% and 1.8%.

TCS was down 0.7% ahead of its results due later today. The broader-market listed HCL Technologies (532281) was up 2.1% after reporting results.

RIL was up half a percent on recent reports it plans to acquire a stake in a Venezuela crude oil block.

Major miner Rio Tinto (RIO) gained over 2%, boosting the Aussie index after an upbeat production report. Other miners also traded higher with index leader BHP Billiton (BLT) up 2.5% and Fortescue Metals 3.8% higher.

Gold digger Newcrest Mining (NCM) brightened 7% after J.P. Morgan raised its rating on the shares.

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar
Rating
Bharti Airtel Ltd1,578.10 INR-1.39
China Mobile Ltd75.35 HKD-0.20Rating
China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd7.15 HKD-0.83Rating
HCL Technologies Ltd1,911.20 INR-1.15
Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd3,395.00 JPY-0.24Rating
Newcrest Mining Ltd  
Nissan Motor Co Ltd443.00 JPY-0.40Rating
Rio Tinto PLC Registered Shares4,668.00 GBX-0.53Rating
Sharp Corp989.90 JPY-0.22
Tata Motors Ltd724.00 INR-2.73
Tokyo Electric Power Co Holdings444.50 JPY0.05

About Author

Rouhan Sharma  Rouhan Sharma is an assistant site editor for Morningstar.com based in Mumbai, India.

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