Overnight, U.S. major indexes rallied to a record on the back of calmer bond markets and a weaker dollar. The S&P 500 gained 22.62, or 1.1%, to 2121.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 191.75, or 1.1%, to 18252.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 69.10, or 1.4%, to 5050.80.
European stocks finished solidly higher on Thursday, as the head of the European Central Bank reiterated commitment to the bank's massive stimulus program for the eurozone. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6%, while Germany's DAX stock index gained 1.8%
Among Asian bourses
Healthcare, consumer stocks drive Australian market rally
The Australian share market advanced, as risk sentiments buoyed by overnight rally on the Wall Street, with shares of healthcare, realty and consumer goods players being major gainers. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index added 38.90 points, or 0.68%, to 5735.50, while the broader All Ordinaries Index gained 37.50 points, or 0.66%, to 5730. Market turnover was relatively strong, with 1.9 billion shares changing hands worth of A$4.8 billion. For the week, the All Ordinaries lifted 1.7%, while the S&P/ASX 200 index jumped 1.8%.
Healthcare stocks rebounded to be the best performers after suffering the worst losses on Thursday, with ResMed climbing 3.9% to A$6.99 and CSL adding 1.6% to A$89.36.Sonic healthcare rose 1.1% to A$19.54 and Primary Healthcare jumped 2.2% to A$5.22.
Shares of consumer staples and consumer discretionary sectors advanced on speculation that within the next 12 months the Federal Government will introduce GST for online purchases under A$1000. Myer rocketed 3% to A$1.56, JB Hi-Fi 1.9% to A$1.46, Harvey Norman 0.9% to A$4.60, GUD Holdings 1.8% to A$8.97, and Woolworths 1.5% to A$29. Metcash went up 12.1% to A$1.44 after the struggling wholesaler announced plans to launch a A$350 million-plus sharemarket listing of its automotive parts business.
Nikkei rebound on offshore lead
Japanese share market closed higher, on tracking positive lead from European and US markets overnight and yen depreciation against the greenback, with shares of the retailers and land transportation companies being major winners. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 162.68 points, or 0.83%, to finish at 19732.92. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares ended up 15.62 points, or 0.98%, up at 1607.11. The Topix added 1.2% this week.
Total of 25 out of 33 TSE sectors ended higher, with shares of Services, Land Transportation, Retail Trade, Banks, Air Transportation, and Chemicals issues being major losers. Bucking the downtrend- Pulp & Paper, Mining, Oil & Coal Products, Metal Products, and Precision Instruments issues posted modest losses.
Dentsu Inc gained the most on the Nikkei225, up 13.7% to 6160 yen, after the advertising agency reported 79.8 billion yen in profit for the fiscal year ended March and announced plans to buy back as much as 20 billion of shares and pay a dividend of 55 yen a share, up from its previous forecast of 40 yen.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc added 3.3% to 871 yen after the Nikkei newspaper reported the lender plans to buy back 100 billion yen of stock.
Nikon Corp suffered the biggest loss on the Nikkei225, down 11% to 1527 yen, after releasing a weak earnings forecast. The company forecasted a 30.9% fall in its operating profit to 30 billion yen for the year to March 2016. Its American Depositary share price had dropped 13% overnight. Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities cut its rating to underweight from equal-weight.
Sharp Corp tumbled 7% to 186 yen, after the display maker announced plans to pare its global workforce 10% and to take another lifeline from lenders. Morgan Stanley cut its rating on Sharp to underweight, while UBS Group AG reduced its share-price target to 40 yen from 170 yen.
China stocks fall on IPO worries
Mainland China equity market closed lower in volatile trade, amid concerns over a more new share listings after the securities regulator said the market has ample liquidity to handle more initial public offerings. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 69.62 points, or 1.59%, to finish at 4308.69 points. The CSI300 index reduced by 83.31 points, or 1.77%, to 4617.47. For the week, CSI300 gained 1.3% while the SSEC was up 2.4%.
Investors were worried over liquidity pressure as 20 initial public offerings (IPOs) scheduled to launch next week that could lock-up nearly 3 trillion yuan worth of subscription capital, as regulators move to accelerate IPO approvals.
Xiao Gang, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), told a conference on Friday that the watchdog's recent move to accelerate IPO approvals won't have a big impact on the market, because "there are relatively big inflows of cash" into equities.
Shares of energy, telecom and utilities sectors tumbled the most in among SSE industry groups, as investors took profit after their recent surge. GD Power Development Co. lost 2.5% and ZTE Corp. declined 4.8%. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. dropped 3.9%.
Aluminium Corp surged nearly 10%, after the government approved plans to consolidate the rare earth industry under six firms, including Aluminium Corp's parent.
China attracted $9.61 billion of foreign direct investment in April, up 10.5% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce said today, 15 May 2015. The figure was down from March's $12.4 billion, which was 2.2% higher than a year earlier.
Hang Seng ups 2% on cross-border scheme rumor
The Hong Kong stock market closed sharp higher on Friday, 15 May 2015, on expectations of money inflows from the mainland after reports that the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect could start in mid-September or October. The Hang Seng index rose 2%, or 535.73 points, to 27,822.28, posting a 0.9% gain for the week. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, benchmark measure of performance of mainland China enterprises, gained 1.7%, or 233.81 points, to 14,009.76 points. Turnover rose to HK$137.8 billion from HK$126.6 billion on Thursday.
Shares of CKH Holdings (00001) and Hutchison Whampoa (00013) rose 4% to HK$168.5.1 and HK$115.2 ahead of a court hearing of the petition to sanction the restructuring scheme on next Tuesday (19 May).
Chinese telecom carriers were higher in response to the State Council's call for lower telecoms charges. China Mobile (00941) gained 3.6% to HK$109. China Telecom (00728) and China Unicom (00762) added 3.8% and 2% to HK$5.73 and HK$14.12.
The HK government said today the Hong Kong economy grew modestly by 2.1% in real terms in the first quarter of 2015 over a year earlier, slightly slower than the 2.4% growth in the preceding quarter. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, real GDP expanded modestly by 0.4% in the first quarter, after a 0.2% growth in the preceding quarter.
The HK government said today consumer price inflation remained on an easing trend in the first quarter of 2015. After netting out the effects of the Government's one-off relief measures to more accurately reflect the underlying inflation trend, underlying consumer price inflation lowered to 2.7% in the first quarter of 2015, from 3.3% in the preceding quarter. Headline consumer price inflation was 4.4% in the first quarter of 2015, down from 5.1% in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Sensex closes 118 points higher, Nifty above 8200
Indian benchmark indices registered modest gains on the last trading session of the week. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 117.94 points or 0.43% to settle at 27,324, its highest closing since 11 May 2015. The 50-unit CNX Nifty rose 38.15 points or 0.46% to settle at 8,262.35.
Index heavyweight and housing finance major HDFC gained. Index heavyweight and software major Infosys also edged higher. FMCG stocks gained after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) yesterday, 14 May 2015, forecast that the southwest monsoon will hit the Kerala coast around 30 May, a timely arrival for farmers worried about dry weather from an El Nino weather pattern this year.
Auto stocks were mostly higher. Capital goods stocks were in demand. IT stocks were mixed. Banking stocks were mixed. Telecom stocks were mostly higher. Metal and mining stocks declined. Tata Steel fell after the company said it expects to recognize a non-cash write-down of the goodwill and assets in the consolidated financial results in Q4 March 2015 of approximately Rs 5000 crore.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 71.93 crore into the secondary equity market yesterday, 14 May 2015, as per data from Central Depository Services (India). Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 302.57 crore yesterday, 14 May 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: Taiwan's Taiex index fell 0.3% to 9579.48. South Korea's KOSPI dropped 0.65% to 2106.50. New Zealand's NZX50 jumped 0.4% to 5760.38. Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.2% at 3463.10. Malaysia's KLCI climbed up 0.24% to 1811.92. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index fell 0.36% to 5227.10.
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