By Daniel Inman
Asian stocks moved higher on Friday as positive political and
economic news from the U.S. supported sentiment, while Hong
Kong-listed Chinese companies were the best performers for the
week.
Asia received a strong lead from the U.S., where the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI) closed above 16,000 points for the first
time, after Janet Yellen moved one step closer to the top job at
the Federal Reserve.
The Senate Banking Committee voted to approve Yellen's
nomination to become Fed chairman next year -- a move considered
market-positive as she is expected to leave the central bank's easy
monetary policy little changed. In addition, a strong U.S.
jobless-claims report also helped sentiment.
The overnight developments helped push the dollar (DXY) higher
against a number of regional currencies. The greenback added a
total of 1.1% against the yen (USDJPY) on Thursday to its highest
level since early July and extended its run early Friday -- trading
Friday at Yen101.30, compared with Yen101.15 late Thursday in New
York.
The Australian dollar (AUDUSD) continued to fall on Friday,
trading at 91.90 U.S. cents after dropping lower overnight. Local
factors contributed to the Aussie's decline, after Reserve Bank of
Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens late Thursday said that the central
bank was open to intervention on an overly strong currency.
Japan's Nikkei Average gained 1.1%, helped by the dollar firming
above the Yen101 mark. The market added to Thursday's gains, when
the benchmark index rose 1.9%, bucking broad weakness across Asian
stocks.
Sharp Corp. (SHCAF) was one of the major movers in Tokyo, up
7.7%, after a Nikkei report that the LCD panel maker is set to
begin production of small and mid-size panels to supply China's ZTE
Corp. (ZTCOF)
Australia was the other market to record strong gains on Friday.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%, helped by energy and mining stocks.
Aurora Oil & Gas rose 3.2%, and BHP Billiton (BHP) added
0.5%.
South Korea's Kospi was up 0.6%, and Singapore's Straits Times
index fell 0.2%.
Hong Kong stocks continued to push higher on Friday, while
Shanghai moderated. The Hang Seng Index added 0.6%, and the
Shanghai Composite was down 0.2%.
Friday's gains came at the end of a week dominated by
outperformance of Chinese stocks. Last Friday, Beijing released a
broad outline for structural reform of the economy, which boosted
Chinese stocks on Monday.
Although the initial excitement was over, as data released on
Thursday showed China's manufacturing activity slowing in October,
stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai remained Asia's best performers
for the week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was up 7.2%
week-to-date, and the Shanghai Composite was up 3.1% in the
mainland.
Elsewhere in the region, Australia was down 1.2% so far this
week, South Korea was flat, and the Nikkei Average was up 2.2%.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires