Stock markets throughout the Asia/Pacific region pushed higher on Friday as leading international companies posted stronger-than-expected earnings results for the first quarter. Meanwhile, the rally was also powered by technology shares, led by Toshiba, which advanced 4.1%, after the company narrowed its 2008 operation loss to 250 billion Yen ($2.5 Billion) from an initial forecast for a 280 billion Yen loss.
[B][U]Asia[/U][/B][B][U] Session Key Developments[/U][/B]
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· [B]Japanese consumer confidence weakens further in March[/B]
· [B]JPMC, Google posts better-than-expected earnings results for the first quarter[/B]
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[B]Asian Stocks End the Week on Higher Note, Nikkei Posts First Weekly-Loss Since March[/B]
Stock markets throughout the Asia/Pacific region pushed higher on Friday as leading international companies posted stronger-than-expected earnings results for the first quarter. Meanwhile, the rally was also powered by technology shares, led by Toshiba, which advanced 4.1%, after the company narrowed its 2008 operation loss to 250 billion Yen ($2.5 Billion) from an initial forecast for a 280 billion Yen loss.
[B]NKY 225 8907.58[/B]
Japanese stocks rose on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbing 152.32 points, or 1.74% to close at 8907.58, paring its losses for the week to only 0.6%, which is the first weekly decline since March 6. Nippon Steel Corp. and other steelmakers agreed with Toyota Motor Corp. to cut the price of steel by 10% for the year through March 2010, which was much less than the 20% cut anticipated by market participants, and as a result, Nippon steel, the world second-largest steelmaker, jumped 11% following the announcement, while Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., Kobe Steel Ltd. and JFE Holdings Inc. surged 9.5%, 8% and 11%, respectively.
[B]HSI 15601.27[/B]
Hong Kong stocks rose for the sixth consecutive week, with the Hang Seng Index adding 18.28 points, or 0.12% to end the week at 15601.27, extending its weekly gain to 4.7%. Developers gained after Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the city’s real estate industry to “neutral”, which was led by Sino land Co. a housing developer and commercial building owner, as the company’s shares advance 9.8%. However, the rally was capped in the afternoon as Yue Yuan Industrial Ltd., the world’s largest supplier of branded athletic and casual shoes, tumbled 13% following the announcement that shareholders plan to sell the stock in an effort to raise capital.
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[B]ASX 200 3776.70[/B]
The Australian share market end flat after the earnings result from JPMorgan Chase and Google pushed the index to a five-month high during the morning trade. The ASX gained 1 point to close at 3776.70 in Sydney, and posted a gain of 2.9% for the week. The breakdown of the index showed a 1.64% advance in consumer services and 1.58% retreat in energy. Financial rose merely 0.2% as investor preferred to soak-in profits ahead of the weekend following the recent rally in the equities market.
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[B][U]Notable Asian Session Event Risk / Economic Releases
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