Asia was given a negative lead from the U.S., where markets closed lower after the Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes in the U.S. fell to the lowest level since July 2013 in March. Sales on new homes dropped 14.5% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 384,000, lower than analysts'' forecasts for a sales rate of 450,000.
Risk sentiments also deteriorated after flash Chinese manufacturing activity data signaled persisting weakness in the world's second-largest economy in April. The HSBC/Markit flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which measures China's factory activity, rose to 48.3 points in April from 48 points in March, which was an eight-month low. A reading below 50 suggests a contraction in activity.
Among Asia bourses, Australian share market finished the session at best levels in almost six years today on the back of six days of consecutive gain, with shares in bullion, utilities, realty, and mining companies leading rally. But, market turnover was light as many traders remain on the side-line ahead of the Anzac Day holiday tomorrow. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 and the broader All Ordinaries each rose by 0.24% from prior day to finish at 5531 and 5515.50, respectively.
Shares of bullion miners were top gainers in the Australian market, after Comex gold futures quote rose for the first time in four sessions overnight, up by US$3.50 an ounce or 0.3% to US$1,284.60 per ounce. Newcrest higher by 1.3% to A$10.25, Perseus Mining 2.9% to A$0.36 and Kingsgate Consolidated 2.7% to A$0.97.
Materials sector jumped 0.4%, with resources giant BHP Billiton up 0.2% to A$38.28, while Rio Tinto rose 0.3% at A$62.98 and Fortescue Metals Group rose 1.7% to A$5.34. Atlas Iron rallied 2.1% after reporting record shipments for the first quarter of the year.
Financial sector went up 0.2%, with ANZ and Westpac shares both closed at record highs today. ANZ Banking Group added 0.2% to A$34.67 and Westpac Banking Corp rose 0.5% to A$35.78. Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 0.2% to A$78.89 while National Australia Bank jumped 0.4% to A$35.81.
Resmed (RMD) shares were up 3.1% to A$5.26 after the healthcare company lifted its 3Q earnings and announced revenue in the period lifted by 3% to a record US$398 million.
Ramsay Health Care (RHC) fell slightly 0.02% to A$45.98 after the company announced founder Paul Ramsay was in a European hospital in a serious condition with deep concern for his well-being.
In New Zealand, Equities on the New Zealand stock market rose as energy stocks extended a rally for a second day as turmoil in the Labour Party fuelled speculation the incumbent National-led government will return for a third term. The NZX 50 Index rose 11.041 points, or 0.2%, to 5153.963. Within the index, 23 stocks rose, 13 fell and 14 were unchanged.
The surprise exit from politics by Labour MP Shane Jones, who ran for the party's leadership last year, to take up a Pacific economic ambassador post created for him by the National-led government, may weaken the opposition party's election chances. The Labour and Green parties want to re-regulate New Zealand's energy market, a policy which spooked investors and depressed interest in the partial privatisation of MRP, Meridian and Genesis over the last 13 months.
SkyCity Entertainment Group was the day's best performer, rising 2.5% to NZ$4.13, while Pacific Edge, the Dunedin-based biotech company, was the day's worst performer on the bourse, down 5.4% to NZ$1.06.
New Zealand dollar gained against other currencies after Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler raised the official cash rate as expected, while lifting his estimate for economic growth in the March year to 3.5%. The kiwi rose to 86.24 US cents from 85.92 cents earlier and 85.94 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 80.21 from 79.99.
In Japan, Japanese share market declined as investors withdrew profit off the table on tracking drop in Wall Street overnight and as of yen appreciation against the US dollar. Meanwhile, selloff pressure accelerated amid lack of a formal trade agreement between the U.S. and Japan. The Nikkei 225 index closed 1% down at 14404.99, while the Topix index of all first-section issues dropped 0.76% to 1164.90.
Tokyo shares opened weaker on tracking a negative lead from Wall Street overnight. Meanwhile, the fall accelerated in the afternoon after the U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe failed to announce any breakthrough in stalled talks over a huge trans-Pacific trade deal
Market participants were unimpressed by the lack of progress in the 12-nation trade talks. Obama, who began an Asian tour in Tokyo, called on Japan to take bold steps in moving ahead on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would cover about 40% of the global economy. The talks have been stalled as Tokyo and Washington lock horns over key details, including Japanese tariffs on agricultural products and U.S. access to its Asian ally's major auto market.
Japanese exporters declined as the yen rose against the dollar. The dollar slipped to 102.28 yen from 102.50 yen in New York on Wednesday. A stronger yen dents the profitability of Japanese exporters. Toyota dropped 1.4% to 5,469 yen. Sony Corp., the maker of Bravia televisions and PlayStation game consoles, sank 3.1% to 1,859 yen. Panasonic Corp, Japan's biggest maker of consumer electronics, fell 1.8% to 1,111 yen.
Shares of Kobe Steel added 2.3% to 134 yen on reports that the company swung into the black during the past fiscal year, with a pretax profit of around 85 billion yen, well above guidance.
JFE Holdings gained 0.3% to 1917 yen after announcing that it had posted a group net profit of 102.38 billion yen, up from 39.60 billion yen a year earlier. It didn't provide an outlook for the current fiscal year.
Kansai Electric slipped 4.2% to 884 yen after the utility said restarting its nuclear plants will take a long time as the utility needs to review earthquake standards before it can reactivate the facilities.
Seibu Holdings Inc., operator of Japan's biggest hotel chain, fell 2.0% after closing up 11% from its IPO price in its Wednesday re-listing debut on the TSE.
In China, Mainland China share market declined for second consecutive session amid lingering concerns about a new shares oversupply and disappointed private manufacturing report. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.5% down at 2057.03, while the CSI 300 Index, measuring exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, declined 0.2% to 2190.47.
Market participants continued offloading stocks on concerns the restart of IPO sales would divert funds from existing shares after an announcement by the securities regulator that 18 more companies have been given the green light to go public on domestic exchanges, bringing the total number of firms that are ready for initial public offerings to 46. Meanwhile, risk sentiments also deteriorated after flash Chinese manufacturing activity data signaled persisting weakness in the world's second-largest economy in April. The HSBC/Markit flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which measures China's factory activity, rose to 48.3 points in April from 48 points in March, which was an eight-month low. A reading below 50 suggests a contraction in activity.
Among SSE sectors, 8/10 sectors of the SSE index declined, with telecommunication services sector was top loser in the SSE sectoral peers, with fall of 2.2%, while financial issue was top gainer, with rise of 0.4%. Elsewhere, healthcare sector was down 1.4%, information technology down 0.8%, utilities down 0.8%, consumer discretionary down 0.8% and industrials down 0.7%, materials down 0.6%, and consumer staples down 0.6%.
Risen Energy Co., a maker of solar panels that trades on the ChiNext index, dropped 3.7%.
Shares of technology and drug companies declined, with Sanan Optoelectronics down by 1.1%, while Hualan Biological slid 1.1%. Risen Energy slumped 3.7%.
Gemdale, the third-biggest developer, surged 10% after Anbang Life raised its stake in the Shenzhen-based developer to 10% through purchases on the secondary market. Anbang Life and Anbang Property Insurance now hold a 15% stake in Gemdale, according to a statement.
In Hong Kong, shares in the city's bourse finished higher for the first time in three sessions in row, as investors chased for value buying on recently battered stocks, with financials led rally. But the move on the upside was limited as the PBoC drained liquidity of RMB85bn that hurt market sentiment. The benchmark Hang Seng index rose 0.24% to 22562.80, while Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 0.35% to 9940.63.
Among the HK 50 blue chips, 26 rose and 19 fell, with remaining five stocks closed steady. China Unicom advanced 3.8% to HK$10.38, contributing 7-points gains to the benchmark Index and becoming the best-performing blue chip. Power Assets Holdings declined 3.2% to HK$67.75, contributing 9-points losses to the benchmark Index and becoming the worst-performing blue chip.
Shares of Gome Electrical Appliances Holding jumped 4.9% to HK$1.50, its highest close since April 2012, after saying it expects quarterly profit to more than triple. GOME Electrical Appliances said it expects profit for the three-month period ended 31 March 2014 to jump more than 240% from the same period last year. Such substantial growth in profit was due to increased revenue from the comparable stores, consolidated gross profit margin steadily improved and expense ratio declined, a significant increase as compared with the corresponding period last year, net profit margin is expected to exceed 2%.
Summit Ascent (00102) soared 6.2% to HK$13.66 after the company placed shares for its Russian gaming project. The stock had rose to an intra-day high of HK$14.64.
CEC (00759) confirmed that it has been in talks with HKTV (01137) for potential online sales co-operation. CEC soared 17.9% to HK$2.63. HKTV gained 0.9% to HK$2.35.
In south Korea, shares in Seoul market closed higher, with the benchmark Kospi index fell 0.1% to 1998.34 after rising 0.3% earlier, after official data signalled the nation's economy expanded at a faster pace than forecast, showing momentum that could boost inflation pressures and build a case for an interest-rate hike. Gross domestic product grew 0.9% from the previous quarter in the January-March period, the Bank of Korea said today in a statement in Seoul. From a year earlier, GDP increased 3.9%.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, Taiwan's Taiex index fell 0.13%. South Korea's KOSPI index was down 0.1%. Malaysia's KLSE Composite declined 0.11%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index edged down 0.04%. Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.73%.
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