By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in Hong Kong and Australia
bounced back on Thursday after better-than-expected U.S. economic
data spurred gains on Wall Street, while a strengthened yen dragged
on Japanese shares.
The Hang Seng Index climbed 1.8% in Hong Kong and the
S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1% in Sydney after both benchmarks
suffered big losses on Wednesday after a weak set of data on the
services sector in China.
China's Shanghai Composite overcame early losses to rebound 1%
by the midday break, while South Korea's Kospi gained 0.3%. Japan's
Nikkei Stock Average was mildly lower.
The region's broad rebound followed overnight gains for U.S.
equities after data painted a brighter employment picture, with a
report showing a stronger-than-estimated increase in private-sector
jobs, while weekly jobless claims unexpectedly declined.
"Things in the U.S. are looking reasonably solid, which is a
good long-term foundation for financial markets, even though growth
remains sub-trend. The key in this world remains earnings and we
will soon see whether U.S. optimism on that front is justified,"
said Matthew Sherwood, head of investment market research at
Perpetual.
The drop came amidst caution ahead of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls
report on Friday, which is expected to help shape the outlook for
the Federal Reserve's bond purchases -- a key force behind a rally
in global equity markets for several quarters.
Shares of several energy producers advanced as U.S. benchmark
crude-oil futures stayed above $101 a barrel on concerns over
political turmoil in Egypt, where the military ousted President
Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday.
Cnooc Ltd. (CEO) jumped 4% in Hong Kong, Inpex Corp. (IPXHF)
inched up 0.1% in Tokyo and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WOPEY) gained
2.5% in Sydney, recovering some of the losses Wednesday, when it
fell after lowering its 2013 production target.
Evolution Mining Ltd. (CAHPF) shares climbed 2.4% after the
company said its annual gold production rose 13%.
Gains in Hong Kong were also supported by a rebound in financial
shares, with heavyweight banks HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) and China
Construction Bank Corp. (CICHY) rising 2% and 2.3%,
respectively.
But shares of the large Chinese banks were mostly lower in
Shanghai, following a media report that loans made by the country's
four largest banks dropped in June because of a recent liquidity
crunch in the interbank money markets.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (IDCBY) fell 0.5%
and Bank of China Ltd. (BACHY) dropped 0.8%.
Over in Tokyo, many exporters dropped on a firmer yen. Nissan
Motor Co. (NSANY) fell 1.9% and Canon Inc. (CAJ) dropped 0.9%.
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said earlier in the day the
local economy was improving and that consumer prices were expected
to gradually rise as the effect of the central bank's quantitative
easing took hold.
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