Interpac Business and Migration Solutions Melbourne Australia

（October 01, 2010）
ASIAN stockmarkets were up today, as beaten down stocks in Tokyo and Australia attracted buyers.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.4 per cent, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.5 per cent, South Korea's Kospi Composite was 0.2 per cent higher and New Zealand's NZX-50 advanced 0.9 per cent.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 22 points in screen trade.

China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for September improved to 53.8, compared with 51.7 in August. That helped ease worries of a potential slowdown in the economic juggernaut, reinforcing the view after this week's private sector HSBC PMI showed a steady expansion from August.

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Tokyo shares were higher on buying interest in some stocks which were considered oversold. Investors were hopeful that the Bank of Japan will announce additional monetary easing measures to support the economy at its policy meet next week.

"It is clear that the intervention (to stem the yen's rise) was not enough to support the stock market, so investors are expecting more drastic measures," said Kyoya Okazawa, managing director at Credit Suisse. Some exporters were higher, with Advantest up 1.7 per cent, Olympus up 1.6 per cent and Sharp up 0.5 per cent.

Concerns about a strong yen pushed Nikon down 0.2 per cent, despite a Nikkei report that the company was expected to book April-September operating profit in line with market consensus.

Analysts say investors are awaiting the Christmas shopping season to gauge consumer demand for digital cameras. "If the current currency levels (for US dollar/yen and euro/yen) continue, it will be extremely tough," said Toru Kitani, analyst at SMBC Friend Research Centre.

Automakers were mixed with Toyota Motor down 0.5 per cent, while Honda Motor adding 0.9 per cent.

Nintendo was down 0.6 per cent, extending yesterday's sharp losses after it slashed its profit forecasts for the year by more than half and said that its highly anticipated 3DS hand-held videogame machine will miss the holiday shopping season.

On the data front, the country's August core consumer price index fell 1.0 per cent on year, compared with a 1.1 per cent drop in July, and in line with expectations.
It marked the eighteenth-straight month of decline, with economists saying the deflationary spiral could worsen due to the strong yen. The data add to the case for the Bank of Japan to take more steps to loosen monetary conditions at its policy meeting next week.

The Australian market was led by strength in material and financial stocks.

"It is a strong start for our morning session. Our market has been sold off in the last couple of days, and we're certainly seeing buyers look at it as an opportunity today," said Juliette Saly, market analyst at CommSec in Sydney.

BHP Billiton advanced 1.5 per cent and Rio Tinto added 0.7 per cent.
In the banking space, ANZ tacked on 0.6 per cent, National Australia Bank rose 0.8 per cent and Westpac rose 0.7 per cent. "The banks are doing really well as they have underperformed for the past few sessions," Ms Saly said.

Sustained foreign buying helped Korean stocks eke out modest gains.

"With earnings season approaching, it seems like foreigners will continue to buy into Korean shares. Although the market is a bit pessimistic about the fourth-quarter corporate earnings, the slowdown will largely be due to seasonal weakness," said SK Securities' Choi Seong-lak.

Tech plays were largely lower after recent gains, with Samsung Electronics off 0.6 per cent and Hynix Semiconductor down 0.9 per cent. LG Electronics rose 0.7 per cent as the firm's founding family member Koo Bon-joon takes over the chief executive post from Nam Yong from Friday.

LG Chem advanced 1.2 per cent after it said Thursday that will supply lithium-ion batteries to French automaker Renault SA.

In foreign exchange markets, the US dollar was down slightly against the euro as traders digested a raft of US and European data and news events.

Moody's downgrade of Spain by one notch to Aa1 and a higher-than-estimated bailout bill for Anglo Irish Bank buffeted the euro yesterday, while a better-than-expected Chicago-area purchasing managers report helped support the US dollar.

"The generally upbeat data buoyed hopes of a pick-up in US economic activity in the third quarter," said Mike Jones, currency strategist at the Bank of New Zealand.

(Source:theaustralian)