Asian markets ended Wednesday's trading session in positive territory following buoyant GDP numbers for the second quarter from Australia and slight improvement in China's manufacturing activity in August following two months of contraction. Except Shanghai market, all the other markets ended with modest gains led by resource, bank and retail stocks. Japanese market rebounded from yesterday's sharp losses as the local currency showed signs of stability in the trading session. Buying interest in select stocks on the first day of the month also lifted market sentiment.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index advanced 102.96 points, or 1.2%, to 8927, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues rose 6.73 points, or 0.8%, to 811.
Exporters posted modest gains as the local currency, the yen, showed signs of stability after having gained strength in the past few days. Canon Inc. gained 1.17%, Olympus Corp. surged 2.99% and Panasonic Corp advanced 0.99%.
Stocks of machinery companies also advanced on optimism about growth following China's economic data. Fanuc Ltd rose 2%, Kyocera Corp. advanced 1.92%, TDK Corp. added 0.80% and Mitsumi Electric Co. climbed 2.55%.
Shares of shipping transport companies also ended in positive territory. Kawasaki Kishen Kaisha gained 1.28%, Mitsui OSK Lines advanced 0.95% and Nippon Yusen rose 1.85%.
Real Estate companies also advanced into positive territory. Mitsubishi Estate Co. climbed 3.33%, Sumitomo Realty & Development gained 2.25%, Mitsui Fudosan rose 2.49%, Heiwa Real Estate was up 1.99% and Tokyu Land Corp. increased 1.51%.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index surged up 91.50 points, or 2.08%, and closed at 4,496 points, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,527, representing a gain of 88.00 points, or 1.98%.
On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Industry Group/Price WaterhouseCoopers revealed that activity in the country's manufacturing sector continued to expand in August, but at a slower pace than in July. The AIG /Price WaterhouseCoopers' Performance of Manufacturers index declined 2.7 points to a reading of 51.7, signaling the eighth straight month of expansion in the sector. Readings above 50.0 indicate expansion of activity in the surveyed sector.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the economy grew 1.2% between April and June, almost twice as fast as the 0.7% expansion in the first three months of the year. Economists expected the economy to rise 0.9% in the latest quarter. The data further noted that the economy economy grew 3.3% on a year-over-year basis, again beating expectations for a 2.8% rise. The Bureau stated that the terms of trade rose 12.5% and real gross domestic income rose 4%. On the expenditure side, the main positive contributors to GDP were household final consumption expenditure and net exports. On the production side, construction and mining were the largest positive contributors.
Mining and metal stocks ended in positive territory on optimism about sustaining growth in the domestic economy. BHP Billiton gained 2.32%, Rio Tinto climbed 3.07%, Fortescue Metals surged up 5.13%, Gindalbie Metals rose 2.25%, Iluka Resources advanced 0.90%, Macarthur Coal was up 2.30%, Mincor Resources increased 4.05%, and Oz Minerals soared 4.05%.
Oil related stocks also ended higher. Woodside Petroleum gained 2.46%, Santos Ltd added 0.63%, ROC Oil climbed 4.17%, Oil Search Ltd advanced 0.68% and Origin Energy climbed 1.70%.
Banking stocks also advanced on buoyant economic data. ANZ Bank climbed 2.43%, Commonwealth Bank rose 2.01%, National Australia Bank gained 2.80% and Westpac Banking was up 3.00%. Investment banking company Macquarie Group ended in positive territory with a modest gain of 0.91%.
Retailers also gained on positive GDP data for the April-June quarter. David Jones added 1.01%, Harvey Norman advanced 1.16%, JB Hi-Fi gained 1.06%, Reject Shop climbed 2.12%, Wesfarmer rose 2.38% and Woolworths was up by 1.69%.
The Indian market rallied on Wednesday, joining its peers in Asia and Europe, after a slew of economic data eased worries about softening global growth. Amid broad-based buying, the benchmark 30-share Sensex ended up 235 points or 1.31% at 18,206, with 27 of its components closing firm. The 50-share Nifty rose by 69 points or 1.29% to 5,472.
Among the other major markets open for trading, China's Shanghai Composite Index ended in the negative territory with a loss of 15.92 points, or 0.60%, at 2,623. The other markets, however, ended in positive territory on optimism about economic recovery. Jakarta Composite Index in Indonesia rose 53.43 points, or 1.73%, to close at 3,135, Singapore's Strait Times Index gained 32.50 points, or 1.10%, to 2,983, and Taiwan's Weighted Index advanced 51.97 points, or 0.68%, to close at 7,668.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com