Asia Stocks Rise After Wall Street Rally
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published August 12, 2016 | 11:34 AM
HONG KONG, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Augst,2016) - A strong lead from Wall Street gave Asian stock markets a lift Friday, after all three major US indices vaulted to new records as the oil price rebounded. Markets were up even as economic data from China missed expectations -- a disappointing sign for growth in the world's second largest economy. The three-way record in the US, last seen among the leading indices in 1999, came amid strong gains in petroleum-linked shares and retailers, while European stocks also pushed higher thanks to accommodative central bank policies lending continued support to equities. Among the performers was China's New York-listed e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, which reported sales of 32.15 billion Yuan ($4.83 billion), 59 percent higher than the level a year ago and above analyst expectations. Oil prices were buoyed by a Saudi Arabian minister's comments that crude producers may take action to rebalance the market, and extended their gains in Asian trade. "Asia Pacific markets are set to finish the week on a high following strong leads from European and US investors," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said in an email commentary. "Industrial commodities rose, led by oil, and overnight trading displayed 'risk on' characteristics despite the lack of an obvious trigger." Tokyo was up 0.7 percent, having been closed Thursday for a national holiday, while Sydney gained 0.3 percent.
Taipei, Manila and Bangkok also traded higher. Shanghai rose 0.2 percent and Hong Kong advanced 0.6 percent, even as China data disappointed. Government figures released Friday showed that retail sales in the Asian powerhouse rose 10.2 percent year-on-year in July, a sharp slowdown from the 10.6 percent increase in June and below the median forecast of a 10.5 percent rise in a Bloomberg news poll of economists. Also missing expectations was factory output, which increased 6.0 percent in July over the year before, and fixed asset investment (FAI), a gauge of infrastructure spending, which rose 8.1 percent in the first seven months of the year.
Industrial output had been expected to show 6.2 percent growth and FAI 8.9 percent growth. "Though the economic data are weak, they are still within an acceptable range to investors," Wang Zheng, the Shanghai-based chief investment officer at Jingxi Investment Management Co told Bloomberg News. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement China's economy was "basically steady" in July but that "serious disasters" from flooding and high temperatures in some parts of the country caused some indicators to slow. Beijing is looking to retool the economy from a reliance on investment spending and exports to one driven more by consumer demand, but the transition is proving bumpy and gross domestic product growth expanded last year at its slowest rate in a quarter of a century.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
Earthquake jolts Karachi
Sindh minister orders operation after attack on police in Ghotki
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
More Stories From Business
-
Meta profits soar but costs of AI cause worry
23 minutes ago -
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
9 hours ago -
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
9 hours ago -
British-Pakistani firm unveils $35 million luxury apartments for overseas Pakistanis in Islamabad
9 hours ago -
European stocks lose momentum after global rally
10 hours ago -
New pulses varieties imperative to cater domestic food requirements: Dr Khalid Hasan
11 hours ago
-
CEO KP-EZDMC meets CRBC officials
11 hours ago -
Pakistan among nine poor countries that produces 90 percent cigarettes for world
11 hours ago -
Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan Haji Gulbar Khan calls on Minister for Privatisation
12 hours ago -
Germany nudges up growth forecast, ailing economy at 'turning point'
12 hours ago -
Revised UAF budget recommended
12 hours ago -
IDEA, TEVTA organizes Job Fair for youth
12 hours ago