The stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region were trading higher on Friday after Wall Street rallied overnight on the back of a better-than-expected preliminary reading on economic growth and a drop in jobless claims. A fall in oil prices, on profit taking following a three-day winning streak and a report that the International Energy Agency and the U.S. government were ready to release oil from emergency reserves if Tropical Storm Gustav disrupted U.S. oil production, also added to the positive sentiment.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar strengthened to lower 109-yen levels in early Tokyo deals from upper 108-yen levels late Thursday. In South Korea, the won opened weaker at 1,083.0 a dollar. The Australian dollar opened weaker on lower commodity prices at US$0.8623-0.8629 and the kiwi was weaker at US$0.7016 in early local trade.
The Japanese stock market was trading higher after a mixed finish on Thursday. At 8.56 P.M. ET, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index was advancing 187.31 points or 1.47% to 12,955.56, while the broader Topix Index of all First Section Issues was up 20.93 points to 1,240.46.
On the economic front, Japan is scheduled to release a raft of data on Friday. Data including consumer price inflation, industrial production and jobless rate were announced ahead of the opening of the stock markets. Later in the day, Japan will announce July numbers for vehicle sales, housing starts and construction orders in addition to the August small business confidence score.
Core inflation in Japan increased the most in more than a decade in July. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that core CPI increased 2.4% in July from a year earlier. Overall CPI rose 2.3% in July, the fastest since October 1997 when it rose 2.5% and also the tenth consecutive monthly increase.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also said that the unemployment rate in Japan eased to 4.0% in July, down from the two-year high of 4.3% in June and below analyst expectations of 4.1%. The job-to-applicant ratio stood at 0.89 in July, down from 0.91 in June and below forecasts of 0.90.
Meanwhile, retail sales in Japan increased 1.9% in July from a year ago, according to data published Friday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Retail sales for the month totaled 11.55 trillion yen, or US$105.5 billion. July marked the twelfth straight month of increases in overall retail sales, which rose 0.3% in June.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar was trading in the lower 109-yen level on Friday. In early trades, the dollar was quoted in a range of 109.32-109.33 yen, up 0.43 yen from Thursday's close of 108.89-108.92 yen in Tokyo.
Financial stocks advanced following the overnight gains by U.S. housing financing giants and bond insurers on Wall Street. Mitsubishi UFJ gained 2.10%, Mizuho Financial advanced 1.99%, Sumitomo Mitsui climbed 1.56% and Resona Holdings gained 0.82%. In the tech sector, Advantest added 0.43%, Kyocera rose 2.22%, Fanuc advanced 0.86%, Matsushita Electrical Industrial gained 1.81% and NEC climbed 2.63%.
Automaker Toyota climbed 1.68%, Honda advanced 1.43%, Mazda Motors gained 1.94%, Mitsubishi Motors added 1.25% and Nissan improved 1.23%. Among the other major exporters, camera maker Canon climbed 1.67%, electronics maker Sony advanced 1.69% and Nikon rose 2.64%.
Oil explorer Inpex Holdings advanced 0.52%, Nippon Oil rose 3.20% and Showa Shell gained 2.38%.
Fujifilm cut its outlook for full-year operating profit by more than a quarter percent on higher raw material prices and heavier restructuring costs. The company's stock was untraded due to a glut of sell orders.
The South Korean market was trading higher, but off opening highs. At 8:55 p.m. ET, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI was up 2.34 points or 0.16% at 1,476.49 after losing 1.32% on Thursday.
On the economic front, the central bank said that South Korea's current account swung to a deficit in July on higher oil prices and increased spending on overseas travel. The current account shortfall touched US$2.45 billion in July compared to a $1.82 billion surplus in the previous month, the Bank of Korea said in a report. During the first seven months of the year, the country posted a cumulative current account deficit of $7.8 billion, up from a shortfall of $75.5 million a year ago.
In the tech space, Hynix Semiconductors rose 1.3%, but market heavyweight Samsung Electronics declined 0.6%, LG Display slipped 0.2% and LG Electronics was unchanged.
Automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 0.7% and steelmaker POSCO gained 1.7%. Airlines were higher following a drop in oil prices. Korean Air Lines jumped 3.9% and Asiana Airlines climbed 0.7%.
In the financial sector, top lender KookMin Bank rose 0.5%, Shinhan Financial Group climbed 1.2%, and Woori Finance jumped 2.1%. Top brokerage Samsung Securities gained 2.4% and Mirae Asset Securities surged 4.3%.
The Australian stock market was trading higher, extending gains for a third day. At 9:04 p.m. ET, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 43 points or 0.85% at 5,110 after closing up 1.1% on Thursday. The broader All Ordinaries index was gaining 53 points or 0.83% to 5,186.
On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release the report on July private sector credit in Australia. In June, private sector credit rose 0.4% from the month before and was 11.7% higher for the full year to June.
Also, the Reserve Bank of Australia financial aggregates data for July and the Housing Industry Association of Australia new home sales data for July will be released.
Among banking stocks, Commonwealth Bank rose 2.43%, ANZ Banking Group added 2.22%, and investment bank Macquarie Group climbed 3.23%. Westpac advanced 1.60%, St. George bank increased 1.85%, and National Australia Bank gained 1.83%.
In the resources sector, index leader BHP Billiton edged down 0.19%, and Rio Tinto lost 1.43%. Gold miners were mixed after gold closed marginally higher on Thursday. Lihir Gold lost 1.63%, while Newcrest Mining edged up 0.19%.
Among energy stocks, Woodside added 0.59%, while Oil Search edged down 0.67%, and Santos lost 2.48%.
In the retail sector, David Jones gained 2.13%, Coles owner Wesfarmers edged up 0.54%, and giant retailer Woolworths added 0.75%.
Property investor Centro Properties Group rose 14%, as the company said it is making incremental steps to stabilize the group after booking an annual net loss of A$2.06 billion for 2007/08. However, revenue for 2008 rose 94% to A$745.1 million.
Debt-laden Allco Finance Group lost 5% after it posted a massive A$1.73 billion loss for the full-year 2008, compared to a profit of A$211.67 million last year and warned its business remained fragile. It will now restructure to focus on its core capabilities by selling non-core assets and some exiting businesses.
The New Zealand market opened stronger, extending gains for a second straight trading session. The benchmark NZX50 index was up 11.50 points or 0.35% to 3,336.30 shortly after the market opened for the day. Meanwhile, the NZX All Capital Index rose 8.03 points or 0.24% to 3,379.78.
In Friday's economic news, Statistics NZ releases its report on July building permits at 22:45 GMT. Building permit values for June posted a 20.1 percent on-month decline.
In the early trading on the New Zealand stock market on Friday, top ranked Telecom remained unchanged, while Contact Energy added 0.24%. Fletcher Building, the third best stock, collected 1.37%.
In the retail sector Hallenstein Glasson, jewelry retailer Michel Hill and Pumpkin Patch remained unchanged, as Warehouse surged 1.81%.
In the energy sector Vector added 1.31%, as TrustPower remained unchanged in the day's early trading.
Among other notable stocks Infratil, Methven, Nuplex, Steel & Tube Holdings and Sky Network Television remained unchanged, while Sky City lost 0.56%. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare remained unchanged, as Fisher & Paykel Appliances gained 1.14%.
Among dual listed issues AMP, APN News & Media, Lion Nathan, Telstra and Westpac Bank remained unchanged, while Australia and NZ Banking Corp collected 1.73%.
Major gainers included Auckland International Airport by 0.49%, Mainfreight by 0.42%, New Zealand Oil & Gas by 0.62%, Pike River Coal by 0.53% and Tourism Holdings by 0.67%.
Other losers on Friday morning were ING Medical Properties Trust by 1.77% and NZX Limited by 1.38%.
Other Asian markets:
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is up 1.7% at 21,321; China's Shanghai composite index is up 1.1% at 2,375; Singapore's Straits Times index is up 1.2% at 2,723; Taiwan's weighted index is up 0.7% at 7,081; and Malaysia's KLCI is up 14.46 points at 1,084.
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