By Daniel Inman
Asian stocks moved higher on Thursday, while the Australian
dollar fell to its lowest in more than three years against the U.S.
dollar following weak jobs data.
The Australian dollar fell as low as US$0.8794, a level not seen
since August 2010, from US$0.8912 late Wednesday in New York as the
number of people employed unexpectedly fell by 22,600 in December,
undershooting a forecast for a 10,000 increase. Late in Asia, the
currency was trading at US$0.8806.
Despite the poor economic data, Australia's S&P/ASX 200
managed to rise 1.2% to 5309.10, as local miners put in a strong
performance. Newcrest Mining Ltd. jumped 7% after the firm was
upgraded to Overweight from Neutral by J.P. Morgan, while Rio Tinto
Ltd. added 2.1% after the miner said that its iron-ore shipments
rose by 5% last year to a record.
The strength in the commodities space managed to offset
underperformance in the banking sector as major lenders fell after
Citi cut three Australian banks to Neutral from Buy. Commonwealth
Bank of Australia lost 0.5% while Australia & New Zealand
Banking Group Ltd. ended just 0.4% higher.
More broadly in Asia, the region took its lead from the U.S.,
where Wall Street overcame a poor start to the year as the S&P
500 hit a fresh all-time high, with the market helped by upbeat
corporate news as well as positive global economic reports.
The dollar moved higher against the yen in early Asian trade,
adding to a 0.3% gain in the previous session. The greenback was
last trading at Yen104.74 to the dollar compared with Yen104.58
late Wednesday in New York.
The softer yen supported the Nikkei earlier in the session, but
the index ended the day 0.4% lower at 15747.20, as the market was
hit by profit-taking after a strong performance in the previous
session.
The moderate move in Tokyo suggests that the market has calmed
after a period of volatile trading earlier in the week. The index
sank 3.1% on Tuesday, only to bounce back 2.5% in the next session,
as the yen bumped up then down against the dollar as the currency
responded to several sets of U.S. economic data.
Japanese exporters still benefited from the dollar climbing back
toward the Yen105 mark. Honda Motor Co. rose 0.8% and Denso Corp.
climbed 1.8%.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2% to 1957.32, Hong Kong's Hang Seng
Index was up 0.4% at 22986.41, and the Shanghai Composite ended
less than one point higher at 2023.70.
In Hong Kong, shares in logistics firm China South City Holdings
Ltd. surged 61% after technology giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. said
on Wednesday it has agreed to buy a 9.9% stake in the firm for $193
million. The two companies said they would work together in
e-commerce as well as offline services, a move seen as an attempt
by Tencent to strengthen its presence in China's fast-growing
online shopping market.
Tencent shares added 0.8%.
Write to Daniel Inman at daniel.inman@wsj.com