Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday, 08 April 2013, with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbing to a 4 1/2-year high after the Bank of Japan's unprecedented stimulus. Japanese stocks soared on Monday as the yen's slide helped the market stand tall, even while some other Asian equities suffered from a cocktail of worries over the spread of bird flu in China, downbeat U.S. jobs data and North Korea's aggression.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 2.8% to end at 13,192.59, while gains for some mining stocks helped Australia's S&P/ASX 200 post a modest 0.3% advance from two-month lows. China's Shanghai Composite skidded 0.6% as the market reopened after a four-day weekend amid heightened worries over the spread of a new strain of bird-flu virus. Taiwan's Taiex slumped 2.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended marginally lower, and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4%.
BOJ officials said 4 April 2013 the central bank will increase its monthly bond purchases to 7.5 trillion yen ($76 billion), exceeding the 5.2 trillion yen forecast. They also suspended a cap on some bond holdings and dropped a limit on debt maturities. They set a two-year horizon for their goal of 2% inflation. Officials are working to end 15 years of deflation.
Japanese exporters advanced. Toyota gained 4.1% to 5,300 yen, increasing for a fourth day. Honda Motor which gets about 80% of its sales outside of Japan, rose 3.7% to 3,805 yen. The yen fell to 99.01 per dollar. A decline in the currency boosts the value of Japanese export earnings when repatriated.
China tried to ease concerns that a new strain of bird influenza will spark an epidemic as authorities reported three more infections of the deadly H7N9 virus that's killed six people since March. The outbreak of the virus caused soybean futures and shares of Chinese companies traded in Hong Kong to fall April 5 amid concern the disease will hurt demand in the world's second-largest economy.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was little changed. China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.6%, paring a drop of as much as 2% as it reopened after a holiday. The Shanghai measure has slumped in the past two months amid concern steps to cool property prices will drag on economic growth.
Airline stocks in particular fell across most of the region, reflecting fears that tourist flows into and from China may be affected. In Shanghai, Air China skidded 3.4% and China Southern Airlines shed 2.6%. Elsewhere in the region, China Airlines dropped 6% and Eva Airways Corp. slumped 6.8% in Taipei, Qantas Airways fell 1.4% in Sydney, and Korean Air Lines declined 2% in Seoul. EVA Airways, Taiwan's second-largest carrier, slumped the most in 21 months in Taipei, dragging the nation's equities benchmark to the biggest slump since June.
But in Hong Kong, airlines saw some relief buying after taking a heavy hit Friday. Airlines listed in Hong Kong rebounded after slumping 5 April. Cathay Pacific Airways, Asia's largest international carrier, rose 4.1% to HK$12.78. China Southern Airlines increased 3.4% to HK$4 and Air China, the nation's biggest carrier by market value, jumped 4.5% to HK$6.32.
At the same time, drug-maker shares advanced in China, with Harbin Pharmaceutical adding 1.6%, and Kangmei Pharmaceutical up 1.4%.
The broad decline for regional markets followed weak cues from the U.S., where stocks fell on Friday after nonfarm payrolls data for March disappointed.
Taiwan's Taiex Index retreated 2.4% as the market reopened after a holiday on April 4 and April 5 as stocks reacted to the bird-flu outbreak. That's the biggest drop in 10 months.
New Zealand's NZX 50 Index retreated 0.8% and Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.4%.
Latest job data showed that the United States created the fewest number of jobs in March in nine months, adding to a string of reports suggesting companies have cut back on new hires and that the economy is slowing again. As per the report, the U.S. added a seasonally adjusted 88,000 jobs, the smallest increase since last June and nearly half-a-million people stopped looking for work last month. The March jobs report fell well below Wall Street expectations. Market had forecast a 190,000 increase in jobs. U.S. stocks slumped after the report.
The unemployment rate fell to 7.6% from 7.7% to mark the lowest level since December 2007, but the decline stemmed from more Americans dropping out of the labor force.
The disappointing March jobs report has revived concerns that the economy could cool off again in midyear like it did in both 2012 and 2011. In both years, hiring started out strong but later petered out. Most economists have been predicting the economy would slow in the second quarter after a strong start to the New Year. Growth in the second quarter is forecast to decelerate to 2.2% from an estimated 3% in the first three months of 2013.
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