Asian markets ended the trading session Monday in positive territory as concerns about global economic recovery eased considerably led by better than expected jobs report in the US for August. The US Labor Department revealed on Friday that only 54,000 jobs were lost during the month as against an expectation of loss of more than 110,000 jobs. Positive closing on Wall Street on Friday and positive closing across the markets in neighborhood during the day lifted the market sentiment. Trading activity was relatively lesser as the US market will be closed on the eve of Labor Day.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index dvanced 187.19 points, or 2.05%, to 9,301 while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues gained 15.01 points, or 1.82%, to 839.
Light sweet crude oil futures for October delivery ended at $74.36 a barrel in electronic trading, down $0.24 per barrel from previous close at $74.60 a barrel in New York on Friday.
Exporters led the gains in the market as concerns about global economic recession eased considerably and the local currency managed to remain above the 84-yen mark for the day, awaiting the outcome of the two-day policy meeting of the Bank of Japan that started today. Canon Inc. advanced 1.55%, Sony Corp. rose 1.81%, Sharp Corp. climbed 2.32%, Panasonic Corp. gained 1.81%, Kyocera Corp. surged up 3.88% and Pioneer Corp. was up 5.12%.
Machinery related stocks also surged higher on optimism about global recovery. Fanuc Ltd climbed 2.99%, Tokyo Electron surged up 3.87%, TDK Corp. gained 3.12%, Denso Corp. rose 3.23% and Mitsubishi Corp. was up 3.68%.
Automotive stocks also advanced on optimism about US economy. Toyota Motor Corp. advanced 1.58%, Honda Motor Co. added 1.10%, Suzuki Motor climbed 1.54%, Nissan Motor Co, gained 2.10%, Mazda Motor Corp. surged up 3.74% and Isuzu Motors increased by 1.38%.
Shipping stocks also ended in positive territory. Mitsui OSK Lines soared 3.48%, Nippon Yusen climbed 2.71% and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha rose 4.41%.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index advanced 34.30 points, or 0.76%, and closed at 4,575 points, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,616, representing a gain of 38.10 points, or 0.83%.
On the economic front, a report released by ANZ Bank revealed that job advertisements on the internet and in newspapers in Australia increased by a seasonally adjusted 2.6% in August compared to the previous month. An average of 176,239 job ads were posted per week in August, the report revealed. This follows a 1.4% increase in the previous month. The number of job ads in major metropolitan newspapers rose 1.5% in August. This is the second consecutive rise after falls in April through June.
In a separate report, data revealed that a gauge of inflation in the country showed that consumer prices had risen to the top end of the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2%-3% target range in August. As per the TD Securities - Melbourne Institute report, annual inflation gauge rose to 3% from 2.8% in July. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.2%, after the 0.1% rise in the prior month. The rise was driven by higher prices for food, alcohol & tobacco, and furniture & furnishings. These were partly offset by lower prices for meat & seafood and holiday travel.
Light sweet crude oil futures for October delivery ended at $74.36 a barrel in electronic trading, down $0.24 per barrel from previous close at $74.60 a barrel in New York on Friday.
Banking stocks ended in positive territory on optimism about global economic recovery. ANZ Bank gained 1.59%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia advanced 1.09%, National Australia Bank added 0.75% and Westpac Banking climbed 1.24%. However, investment banking company Macquarie Group bucked the trend and ended in negative territory with a loss of 4.70% after revealing that it expects a 25% drop in first half net profit.
Mining and metal stocks also ended higher. BHP Billiton added 0.57%, Rio Tinto advanced 1.64%, Fortescue Metals climbed 2.92%, Gindalbie Metals gained 1.02%, Iluka Resources rose 2.52%, and Macarthur Coal edged up 0.09%. However, Oz Minerals bucked the trend and ended in negative territory with a loss of 0.74%
Mixed trading was witnessed among energy-related stocks. Woodside Petroleum edged up 0.05%, ROC Oil Ltd climbed 2.67%, Oil Search added 0.34% and Origin Energy was up by 0.13%. However, Santos Ltd ended in negative territory with a loss of 0.93%.
The Indian market rose sharply to its highest level since February 2008 on Monday, as strong global cues, continued buying by foreign funds and a good monsoon thus far this year boosted sentiment. The rally was broad-based and the market breadth was extremely strong, with gaining shares outpacing declining ones by 2070 to 884 shares on the BSE. The 30-share Sensex ended up 339 points or 1.86% at 18,560, while the broader Nifty rose by 98 points or 1.78% to 5,577.
Among the other major markets open for trading, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 40.86 points, or 1.54%, to 2,696, Singapore's Strait Times Index advanced 32.02 points, or 1.07%, to 3,035, Taiwan's Weighted Index rose 60.74 points, or 0.78%, to close at 7,891, and Jakarta Composite Index in Indonesia was up by 52.87 points, or 1.67%, to 3,217.
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