By Daniel Inman
Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday, following gains on
Wall Street, though shares in Sydney fell ahead of this weekend's
federal elections.
Regional investors are anticipating a number of significant
events that could impact markets. At the forefront is the monthly
labor report in the U.S., out Friday, which will be interpreted as
a sign over whether the Federal Reserve will roll back its
bond-buying program.
Federal Reserve data released overnight showed that the U.S.
economy grew at a "modest to moderate" pace in July and August,
according to the central banks "beige book". This gave a Wall
Street a boost, and helped regional markets such as Hong Kong and
South Korea push higher.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 1%, extending a strong run
this week for Chinese companies listed in the city. The Hang Seng
China Enterprises index also rose 1% to put the index up 5.2% since
last Friday.
South Korea's Kospi was up 0.6% and the Singapore Strait Times Index gained 0.9%.
In Australia, there was caution ahead of a federal election over
the weekend. On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.4% ahead
of the poll.
The yen (USDJPY) was stable against the dollar after gaining
0.2% overnight - last at Yen99.70 to the dollar compared with
Yen99.75 late Wednesday in New York. The main catalyst on Thursday
for the yen will be the Bank of Japan's news conference later in
the day, and whether Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hint at
additional easing measures.
With little movement in the yen, the Nikkei was also steady -
last up 0.1%.
Japanese car companies managed to make gains after reporting
strong sales in the U.S. in August. Honda Motor Co. (HMC) rose 2%
and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) was 0.5% higher.
The Shanghai Composite was down 0.2%, with shares in companies
expected to benefit from the Shanghai's planned free-trade zone
pulling back after strong gains in recent sessions. Shanghai
International Port fell 1%, after surging 95% over the previous
nine sessions and Shanghai Jinqiao Export Processing Zone dropped
0.9% after a 70% gain over the same period.
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