ASIA MARKETS: Stocks In Japan, Australia Outpace Lagging Asian Markets
September 24 2017 - 11:18PM
Dow Jones News
By Ese Erheriene
Apple suppliers fall in Taiwan; New Zealand stocks rise after
election
Asia-Pacific markets shrugged off weekend election results in
Germany and New Zealand, as stocks in Australia and Japan rose on
local drivers.
In Germany, incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel's party lost more
seats than expected, including some to the anti-immigration
Alternative for Germany, which became the first far-right party to
enter the Bundestag since World War II. But Merkel will continue to
lead the government.
"While Germany's leadership as a pillar of stability in Europe
is sustained, the strong showing of the populist far-right and
setbacks for the SPD are a surprise," said Michael Strobaek, global
chief investment officer at Credit Suisse.
The euro was broadly down about 0.2% versus other major
currencies.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's incumbent National Party came three
seats short of an outright legislative majority, outperforming
after polls suggested the result would be too close to call. The
country's NZX 50 Index rose 0.4%, while the New Zealand dollar fell
0.8% against the U.S. dollar.
Japanese stocks, which have outperformed over the past two weeks
thanks to a weaker yen, continued on that trend as the currency
fell to Yen112.50 per dollar from Yen112 late Friday in New York.
The Nikkei rose 0.5%, with exporters performing well.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2% on strength from big
banks and mining companies. Financials were notably weak in South
Korea, helping send the Kospi down 0.4%. Hana Financial Group
(086790.SE) and KB Financial Group (KB) were each off about 3%.
In Taiwan, the Taiex was recently down about 0.9% after falling
1.2% on Friday. Wistron (3231.TW) , Compal Electronics (2324.TW)
and Foxconn Technology (2354.TW) slid some 3%.
The island's stock market has been strong of late, due in part
to optimism about Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) new handset offerings. But
that positive sentiment has cooled since the smartphones were
rolled out and shares of Apple's Taiwanese suppliers have fallen
accordingly.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was recently down 0.8%. Highflying
shares of Chinese developers pulled back, with China Evergrande
Group (3333.HK) and Sunac China Holdings (1918.HK) dropping 4%. As
many as seven tier-two cities launched fresh measures over the
weekend aimed at cooling their housing markets.
Commodities started quietly in Asia, with oil and gold futures
little changed from Friday's U.S. settlement levels.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 24, 2017 23:03 ET (03:03 GMT)
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