ASIA MARKETS: Asian Stocks Build On Gains, And This Time China Joins In
April 24 2017 - 11:31PM
Dow Jones News
By Kenan Machado
Shanghai index recovers after big drop Monday
Asian stocks were widely higher for a second day after the
French presidential election, but gains again trailed those logged
overnight in Europe and the U.S.
Meanwhile, investors in Asia are on North Korea watch. Tuesday
marks the 85th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's army,
and North Korea observers have speculated that the county would
test a nuclear device or missile.
That could raise the stakes in the recent war of words between
North Korea and the U.S. On Monday, President Donald Trump called
on United Nations diplomats to deal with North Korea's
nuclear-weapons program.
"Unbridled risk-on trade at this point in time is not a given,"
said Vishnu Varathan, a senior economist at Mizuho Bank in
Singapore. The market optimism over Emmanuel Macron's victory in
France's first round of voting is losing steam, he said.
Still, equities are advancing in Asia.
Japan continued to lead the way after Monday's 1.4% jump in the
Nikkei Stock Average . It finished morning trading up 0.8% as the
dollar moved back above Yen110 after hitting session lows near
Yen109.60. The currency moves helped export-reliant stocks.
Nintendo (7974.TO) and Mazda (7261.TO) rose about 1.6%.
The uptick in sovereign-debt yields such as U.S. Treasurys after
the election results also helped Japanese insurers, which invest
heavily in the sector.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index advanced 0.8% amid broad-based
buying in bank, insurance and infrastructure stocks. Stabilization
in Chinese equities also helped. The Shenzhen Composite gained 0.7%
while Shanghai's benchmark rose slightly after Monday's 1.4% drop,
the biggest in four months.
Still, caution remains about both markets amid potential Chinese
regulatory action and liquidity squeezes, said Ben Bei, a Hong Kong
and China strategist at broker CIMB. Mainland money flowing into
Hong Kong stocks is expected to be muted for the near term, he
added.
Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5% as consumer confidence
rose the most in nearly four years after the removal of President
Park Geun-hye. "We credit the export-led recovery for stronger
consumer confidence," said Tim Condon, head of research for ING in
Asia.
Markets are closed in Australia and New Zealand for a
holiday.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 24, 2017 23:16 ET (03:16 GMT)
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