Agence France-Presse
First Posted 19:15:00 05/10/2011
HONG KONG—Asian markets mostly rose Tuesday as a huge Chinese trade surplus and upbeat corporate news in Japan boosted sentiment but European debt fears weighed after a downgrade of Greece's credit rating.
The Nikkei closed on a high after moving in and out of positive territory, lifted by strong Toshiba results and positive news from Toyota, which helped to offset the downside caused by a surging yen.
Tokyo closed 0.25 percent, or 24.38 points, higher at 9,818.76 while Shanghai finished up 0.63 percent, or 18.17 points, at 2,890.63..
Taipei closed 0.14 percent, or 12.20 points, higher at 9,023.28 but Sydney closed 0.65 percent, or 31 points, lower at 4,725.8.
Hong Kong and Seoul were closed for public holidays.
Trade was light ahead of the release Wednesday of key inflation data out of China, with many hoping price rises would have eased in April after hitting a two-year high 5.4 percent in March.
A figure higher than 5.4 percent would likely lead to another rate hike by Beijing.
"The market will get a boost if April's CPI growth slows from March's 5.4 percent," Amy Lin, an analyst with Capital Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
The regional mood was given some lift by data from China on Tuesday showing its trade surplus in April surged to $11.4 billion from a $139 million in March, and well above forecasts of $1.0 billion. Analysts said the figures could suggest that imported inflation is easing.
Tokyo ended up thanks in part to the data from China, a key trading partner, as well as Toshiba saying it had posted a $1.7 billion profit in the year to March while Sumitomo Heavy soared following forecasts of an 18 percent rise in net profit.
It was also given a fillip by a report that car giant Toyota would be able to start normal production two or three months earlier than expected following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that hammered the nation's manufacturing.
However, gains were capped by the yen's strength and eurozone worries after Standard & Poor's slashed its credit rating for Greece on Monday citing a possible debt restructuring.
S&P warned its own projections suggested that merely rescheduling Athens' debt repayments would not be enough and that private and state investors may only ever get half of their money back.
"Principal (capital) reductions of 50 percent or more could eventually be required to restore Greece's debt burden to a sustainable level," S&P said.
The news hit the euro and firms with exposure to the eurozone, said Yukifumi Watanabe, a trader at Himawari Securities.
"The S&P downgrade on Greece (by two notches to single-B) is a big deal and default concerns will not dissipate easily this time," he said.
The euro was at $1.4326 in Tokyo from 1.4358 in New York late Monday. The single European currency also fell to 115.18 yen from 115.31.
The dollar was at 80.37 yen from 80.34.
The downgrade came amid increasing concern in the markets that, despite its 110-billion-euro ($160 billion) bailout by the IMF and EU last year, Greece will not be able to keep on top of a debt mountain that is larger than a year and a half of its entire economic output.
Sydney was dragged by financial stocks, although eyes were mostly on the upcoming budget later in the day.
"The Australian share market is oversold and I took the bounce off the 200-day moving average last week as a very good sign," said Bell Potter senior client adviser Stuart Smith.
On Monday in New York a revival in commodities prices pushed up equity markets, which ignored the S&P downgrade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 45.94 points (0.36 percent) at 12,684.68.
But oil's upsurge was short-lived, with the market pausing Tuesday as traders locked in profits.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, fell $1.21 to $101.34 a barrel in the afternoon while Brent North Sea crude lost $1.27 to $114.63.
"Both Brent and WTI (West Texas Intermediate) are slightly weaker after a $6 and $7 rally overnight, which could have resulted in some profit-taking as traders take a breather before oil prices rise further," said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil and gas analyst at ANZ bank
In other markets:
-- Singapore closed 0.62 percent, or 19.32 points, higher at 3,156.26.
SingTel rose 0.97 percent to Sg$3.13 and City Developments gained 0.35 percent to Sg$11.58.
-- Manila ended 1.08 percent, or 45.98 points, higher at 4,303.13.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone was up 3.1 percent at 2,480 pesos and International Container Terminal gained 3.5 percent at 49.50.
-- Wellington added 0.28 percent, or 9.77 points, to finish at 3,528.75.
Telecom rose 2.1 percent and Fletcher Building was flat at NZ$8.98 while Pumpkin Patch added 1.7 percent to NZ$1.21.
-- Jakarta gained 0.40 percent, or 15.07 points, to 3,800.52.
Coal producer Bumi gained 2.1 percent to 3,625 rupiah and rival Bukit Asam is up 0.5 percent at 21,850, while carmaker Astra rose 1.0 percent to 56,950.
But cement maker Gresik slipped 1.1 percent to 9,300.
-- Kuala Lumpur closed up 0.39 percent, or 5.96 points, at 1,525.37.
Hong Leong Bank added 2.7 percent to 11.50 ringgit, Telekom Malaysia was up 2.5 percent at 4.12 and AirAsia fell 1.9 percent to 3.04 while Tenaga Nasional lost 0.8 percent to 6.03.
-- Bangkok rose 1.22 percent, or 13.09 points, to close at 1,085.56.
Banpu gained 6 baht to 742 and PTT Plc added 3 baht to 361.
-- Mumbai closed flat, edging down 16.19 points, to 18,512.77.
Lender SKS Microfinance snapped 12 straight days of losses, rebounding from a record low of 262 rupees to finish up 9.99 percent at 297.85 rupees.
That followed a more than 19 percent fall on Monday and a near 20 percent loss on Friday amid concerns over its future growth.
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