ASIA MARKETS: Asian Markets Rise Despite Slower Economic Growth In China
2019年1月21日 - 01:56PM
Dow Jones News
By Associated Press and MarketWatch
Nikkei, Hang Seng continue Wall Street's gains last week
Shares in Asia rose Monday, extending gains on Wall Street last
week. Buying enthusiasm has been spurred by renewed hopes for
progress on resolving the trade standoff between the U.S. and
China. Shares rose in Shanghai and Hong Kong early Monday despite
news that China's economy grew at its lowest pace in three decades
last year.
The Shanghai Composite Index surged 0.7% and Hong Kong's Hang
Seng index climbed 0.3%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3%. South
Korea's Kospi was almost flat and the S&P ASX 200 in Australia
added 0.3%. Shares rose in Southeast Asia and Taiwan .
Among individual stocks, Nissan (NSANY) rose slightly as former
chairman Carlos Ghosn renewed an attempt for bail
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ex-nissan-chair-ghosn-seeks-bail-offers-to-wear-ankle-monitor-2019-01-20).
Electronics maker TDK (6762.TO) and Takeda Pharmeceutical (4502.TO)
were among Tokyo's biggest gainers. In Hong Kong, shares of Sunny
Optical (2382.HK) surged while fellow Apple component maker AAC
(2018.HK) fell. In Australia, Treasury Wine Estates (TWE.AU) stock
jumped after announcing its chief operating officer had left the
company
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/coo-of-australias-treasury-wine-estates-ousted-2019-01-20)
due to a breach of internal policies.
China on Monday announced its economy expanded by 6.6% over a
year earlier, down from 2017's 6.9%. Growth in the three months
ending in December cooled to 6.4% from the previous quarter's 6.5%.
China's communist leaders are trying to steer China to slower, more
self-sustaining growth based on consumer spending instead of trade
and investment. But the slowdown has been sharper than expected,
prompting Beijing to ease lending controls and step up government
spending to shore up growth and avoid politically dangerous job
losses. The lackluster data raised hopes for more policy
action.
Stock benchmarks in the U.S. and Europe jumped Friday after
Bloomberg News reported that Chinese officials offered to buy more
goods and services from the U.S., potentially eliminating its trade
deficit by 2024. On Wednesday the Chinese government said the top
trade envoys from both countries will meet at the end of January.
The U.S. trade deficit with China grew to a record $323.3 billion
in 2018. The two countries have raised taxes on billions of dollars
of each other's goods in the spat over the trade deficit, Beijing's
manufacturing plans, and U.S. complaints that China steals
technology from foreign companies.
"The scrutiny remains on U.S.-China trade even as no scheduled
announcements or meetings are expected. After seeing Wall Street
enthused by reports of the U.S. considering lifting tariffs on
Friday, the weekend delivered another dose of positivity for
markets. This came in the form of reports suggesting that China had
offered a path to eliminate trade imbalances with the U.S. in their
early January talk in China," Jingyi Pan of IG said in a
commentary.
On Friday, the S&P 500 climbed 1.3% to 2,670.71 and the Dow
Jones industrial average climbed 1.4% to 24,706.35. The Nasdaq
composite added 1% to 7,157.23. Stock indexes have surged since
reaching a low point on Christmas Eve, as the S&P 500 has risen
for four weeks in a row. It climbed 2.9% last week. It's risen at
least 1.9% every week during that rally. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average is up 5.9% and the S&P 500 index has risen 6.5% so far
this year, a surprisingly strong showing coming off a punishing end
to 2018. U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed Monday for the
Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
U.S. crude rose 13 cents to $54.16 per barrel in electronic
trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 3.3 percent on
Friday to $53.80 in New York. Brent crude , used to price
international oils, picked up 16 cents to $62.86 per barrel. It
added 2.5 percent to $62.70 a barrel in London on Friday.
The dollar fell to 109.68 yen from 109.78 yen.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 20, 2019 23:41 ET (04:41 GMT)
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