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Asian stocks edge ahead, Taiwan surges
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks are edging ahead going into afternoon trade on Monday, despite a tentative open. Japan's Nikkei average ended the morning session up 0.42 percent to 8,900.82, rallying from a lower start on gains in exporters. The broader Topix is flat, its loss of 0.03 points not registering in percentage terms, leaving it standing at 860.62. South Korea and Singapore are both also flat. But Taiwan stocks are firing ahead, up more than 2.5 percent after mayoral elections over the weekend. Australian stocks are up almost 0.75 percent, though there are losses in neighboring New Zealand. Hong Kong is off 0.25 percent in late morning trade. U.S. stocks advanced on Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 0.26 percent to 8,645.77. Nasdaq moved ahead 0.83 percent. But the Dow lost ground for the week, breaking its run of eight weekly gains in a row, its longest streak in four and a half years. (Full story) Exporters gaining in TokyoIn Tokyo, the market warmed to a slight upward revision in third-quarter gross domestic product. Japan's economy grew 0.8 percent in the September quarter, better than the 0.7 percent initial result. Tokyo itself is cool, though, with the city seeing its first snowfall of the year on Monday. That's earlier than last year and 24 days ahead of average.
Exporters are firing ahead on optimism over possible tax cuts in the United States, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and presidential economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey resigned. A tax cut would spur U.S. spending, which is pushing stock in Sony Corp. up 0.93 percent to 5,400 yen. Likewise, Honda Motor is up 1.52 percent to 4,670 yen. But Toyota Motor is again running counter to the trend in export stocks, down 0.94 percent to 3,150 yen. The yen is trading at 122.77, much stronger than the 123.56 it stood at in late New York trading on Friday. Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Japan would not use public funds such as postal office savings to weaken the yen. Bank stock Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is topping the losses, down 4.82 percent at 375,000 yen, as investors worry about its eroding capital base. Mizuho Holdings is down 2.63 percent at 111,000 yen. Sydney big caps gainingIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index is up 0.74 percent at 3,049.7, bolstered by gains in some of its biggest listings. The largest, News Corp., is up 2.73 percent to A$12.44, while flagship airline Qantas is ahead 1.91 percent to A$3.73 as Air New Zealand outlines plans for their alliance.
Mining company WMC Resources, newly split from parent WMC, is up 4.17 percent at A$4.25 after it bought Corridor Sands from South Africa-based Southern Mining. BHP Billiton is also gaining, up 1.09 percent to A$10.20. New Zealand's Top 40 closed down 0.65 percent at 1,925.38, knocked by a 1.07 percent fall in Telecom New Zealand to NZ$4.60. Auckland International Airport ended down 1.32 percent to NZ$5.22, giving back some of Friday's gains after the city council said it would sell half its 25.6 percent stake and put off selling the rest for at least two years. Hong Kong off a littleIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is down 0.25 percent to 9,948.58, with telecom PCCW plunging 5.56 percent to HK$1.36 after proposing a 5:1 reverse split. HSBC is propping up the market with a 0.28 percent rise to HK$90.00, gaining from the interest rate cut in Europe last week. Property stocks are generally lower on Monday despite reports of solid apartment sales over the weekend. Cheung Kong Holdings is down 1.34 percent to HK$55.00. Trading in property developer Wheelock is suspended pending an announcement on a reorganization of its subsidiaries. Taiwan surging after electionsTaiwan's Taiex is up 2.68 percent to 4,866.17 in late morning trade, benefiting from victories by the incumbents in mayoral elections in Taipei and Kaoshiung, the island's two biggest cities. (Full story)
China Steel is topping the volume with a 4.19 percent jump to T$19.90, with other industrials also gaining. Taiwan Cement is up 6.48 percent to T$11.50. Chang Hwa Bank is up the daily 7 percent limit to T$17.40 after reporting a pretax profit of T$1.05 billion for November, up 9 percent from the month before. Techs such as screenmaker Au Optronics and chip foundry UMC are also rallying. Korea gets telecom liftSouth Korea's benchmark Kospi index is flat, up 0.03 points, which doesn't register in percentage terms, leaving it at 718.12. There are telecom gains after SK Telecom, up 0.40 percent to 253,500 won, and KT Corp., up 2.10 percent to 53,600 won, were given the go-ahead to sell down their cross shareholdings. Department store Shinsegae is up again, ahead 1.08 percent to 187,000 won. But chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor is holding the market back with a 9.09 percent tumble to 400 won, with creditors expected to discuss a 20:1 reverse split before a new bailout. NatSteel up in SingaporeIn Singapore, the Straits Times is flat at 1,365.33, for a tiny 0.02 percent loss. Chip foundry Chartered Semiconductor is topping the volume with a 2.56 percent slip to S$0.95. SingTel is also active, slipping 0.78 percent to S$1.28. Steel miller NatSteel is up 0.98 percent to S$2.05, as hotelier Ong Beng Song raises his conditional cash offer for the company. (Full story) Bank stock DBS Group is also higher, up 0.92 percent at S$11.00.
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