HONG KONG (AFP) – Asian markets mostly rose yesterday, with Japanese shares gaining on a weaker yen and plunging shares in Seoul.
Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 1.8 per cent, with the yen’s recent weakness proving a boon for major exporters. The yen hit 158.08 per United States (US) dollar on Thursday evening – its lowest in almost six months – before rebounding somewhat yesterday.
In Seoul, the market closed down by 1.02 per cent after the won plunged to a 16-year low of 1,480.20 per US dollar yesterday morning.
South Korea’s business outlook for January fell 7.3 points to 82.4 in the Bank of Korea’s composite sentiment index, marking the biggest month-on-month slide since April 2020, according to data released Friday. The survey of almost 3,300 firms was conducted between December 11 and 18.
In Japan, the yen was “marginally stronger” yesterday, Bloomberg reported, after data showed inflation in Tokyo rose for a second month in December.
Other positive figures from Japan showed industrial production declined less than expected in November, while retail sales came in higher than estimated last month.
With the country’s unemployment rate holding at 2.5 per cent in November – low by international standards but slightly above Japan’s pre-COVID-19 pandemic average – Moody’s Analytics said yesterday that the data confirmed their view that “employment conditions are wobbly”.
Investor attention is now focused “on whether the Nikkei average will expand its rise to recover to the 40,000 points range by the end of the year”, said analyst at Monex Securities Kosuke Oka.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda bewildered observers last week by suggesting a prolonged pause in the institution’s monetary policy tightening, in the face of domestic and international economic uncertainties, which had sent the Japanese currency tumbling.
Ueda said on Wednesday rates would be “adjusted” if the situation continued to improve on the economic and price fronts, leaving investors without a clear signal on a possible interest rate hike and contributing to the yen’s slide.
“With the calendar year winding down and little in the way of tier-one economic data, the market is content mainly to drift until something shakes it from its slumber – likely a late-year squeeze or perhaps a Trump-driven shift in global economic sentiment,” said Stephen Innes from SPI Asset Management, ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump retaking the White House in January.
In Asia, Shanghai, Mumbai, Malaysia, Singapore, Sydney and Bangkok were all in the green. Hong Kong was flat, while Manila was down.
London was down while Frankfurt and Paris were both up in early European trade.
