(RTTNews) - The markets open for trading in Asia ended in positive territory on Monday, on renewed optimism that the global economy is on the mend and recovery is on course. Weak closing in Wall Street on Friday despite positive economic data and results from Microsoft did impact the markets in early trading. However, optimism about recovery and better earnings from companies lifted market sentiment and the markets ended in positive territory, but below the day’s high. The markets in HongKong and New Zealand have been closed for public holidays.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index ose 79.63 points, or 0.8%, to 10,363, and the broader Topix index of all First Section issues gained 8.69 points, or 1.0%, to 911

Automotive stocks ended in positive territory on weaker yen. Honda Motor gained 3.39%, Toyota Motor Corp. advanced 1.67%, Suzuki Motor Corp. climbed 2.26%, Nissan Motor rose 2.74% and Mitsubishi Motor increased 1.45%.

Exporters also ended higher as weaker yen increases the realizations from export sales in local currency. Canon advanced 0.83%, Advantest added 0.42%, Sharp gained 2.12% and Sony Corp increased 1.69%.

Nippon Express surged up 10.40% after the company revealed plans to offload 20% of the 34% stake it holds in JP Express to Japan Post Service.

Mixed trading was witnessed among the banking stocks. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gained 2.17%. Mizuho Financial climbed 1.14% and Resona Holdings added 0.29%. However, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial bucked the trend and slipped 0.32%.

Steel stocks ended in negative territory led by JFE Holdings, which despite reporting profit for the recent quarter compared to loss in the same period last year. Traders sold stock after the company did not revise the full-year forecast. The stock declined 2.19%. Among other steel stocks, Pacific Metals Corp. shed 1.30%. Nippon Steel slipped 0.84% and Sumitomo Metal Industries lost 0.43%.

Chiyoda Corp. limited the gains in the market, having plunged 12.59% on huge volume after revising downward the full year forecast for net profit from Y5 billion to Y2 billion

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index declined 29.10 points, or 0.60% to close at 4,830, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,833, representing a loss of 27.10 points, or 0.56%.

On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that producer prices rebounded in the third quarter, rising 0.1% sequentially in comparison to a record 0.8% decline in the second quarter. Analysts expected the producer prices to rise 0.3% in the third quarter.

Metals and mining stocks ended weaker on weak commodity prices in the international market. BHP Billiton declined 1.17%, Rio Tinto slipped 0.87%, Fortescue Metals lost 1.49%, Gindalbie Metals fell 2.14%, Iluka Resources slumped 2.69% and Oz Minerals decreased 1.21%.

Banking stocks also slipped ahead of announcement of results later in the week. ANZ Bank slipped 0.21%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia shed 0.46% and National Australia Bank also lost 0.49%. Investment banker Macquarie Group edged down 0.08%. However, Westpac Banking bucked the trend and advanced 0.84%.

Oil stocks ended in negative territory on weaker crude oil prices. Woodside Petroleum declined 1.83%, Santos shed 0.71%, Oil Search slipped 0.16% and Origin Energy lost 0.55%.

Property stocks also ended in negative territory. GPT Group slumped 4.69%, Mirvac Group lost 1.54%, Stockland shed 0.74% and Westfield Group declined 1.14%.

Mixed trading was witnessed among gold stocks. While Lihir Gold slipped 0.31% and Newcrest Mining lost 1.16%, Sino Gold Mining bucked the trend and gained 1.45%.

The stock market in Hong Kong is closed for public holiday.

In South Korea, the KOSPI Index ended in positive territory with a gain of 16.94 points, or 1.03%, at 1,657, as foreign and domestic institutional investors bought fresh shares, following better than expected economic data related to GDP for the recently concluded July-September quarter. The Bank of Korea (BOK), South Korea’s central bank, announced that the country’s economy expanded 2.9 % in the July-Sept period, well above market estimates. Automakers led the gains on increasing optimism about higher demand for their products on recovery prospects.

The Indian market ended Monday’s volatile session lower, as investors continued to take profits fearing a near-term correction. Rising crude oil prices and uninspiring global cues also weighed on market movement. Traders hesitated to take fresh long positions as they await the results of RBI’s monetary policy review meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow. The BSE Sensex finished at 16,740, down 70 points or 0.42% and the S&P CNX Nifty fell by 26 points or 0.52% to 4,971.

Among the other major markets open for trading in the day, China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 1.72 points, or 0.06% to 3,110, Taiwan’s Weighted Index advanced 19.12 points, or 0.25%, to 7,668, and Singapore’s Strait Times Index inched up 1.28 points, or 0.05% to 2,717. However, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index ended almost flat with a marginal loss of 0.23 points, or 0.01% at 2,468.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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