Eagle River, WI 10/13/2011 (PennyPayDay) – Asian stocks extended recent gains on Thursday, heartened by new efforts by European leaders to strengthen weak European banks and lower Greece's debt burden.U.S. stocks finished with strong gains overnight despite a disappointing start to the earnings season and reports suggested that political rivals in Slovakia have agreed to support a crucial bill on ratifying a eurozone agreement for the extension of European Financial Stability Facility, boosting investor sentiment.
Also, risk appetite returned after European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso set out proposals to solve the euro zone's sovereign-debt crisis, including an outline of measures to shore up the region's banks. However, commodities such as copper and crude fell after trade data from China pointed to slowing global growth.
All eyes are now on the latest weekly U.S. jobless claims data that will be released later today. On the earnings front, JP Morgan Chase will report its results before the bell, while Google is slated to announce its earnings after the closing bell.
Tokyo stocks rose, as a weaker yen against both the dollar and the euro prompted investors to lap up shares of export-related shares. The Nikkei average rose a percent after a 0.4 percent fall the day before, wile the broader Topix index ended up 0.7 percent. Among exporters, Kyocera, Sony, TDK and Advantest rose 2-6 percent. Olympus climbed 4.6 percent on a brokerage upgrade. Brokerage Nomura Holdings jumped 5.7 percent and Daiwa Securities Group rallied 3.6 percent as recession fears eased.
Meanwhile, minutes of the September 6-7 Bank of Japan policy meeting released today showed that more monetary easing steps could be necessary, if economic conditions warrant them. Many members of the committee felt the slowdown in the U.S. economy may be prolonged, and that instability in the financial market may not be resolved soon. The minutes also showed a number of members saw a need to promote asset-based lending.
China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.8 percent, with caution ahead of tomorrow's September consumer price index data limiting the upside. Investors shrugged off weak trade numbers from the top metals consumer, which showed that China's trade surplus shrank more than expected in September, as export growth eased to a seven-month low, reflecting slackening global demand and dwindling confidence levels amid the debt crisis in Europe. The year-over-year growth in exports eased to 17.1 percent in September from 24.5 percent in the previous month. The consensus forecast called for a slowdown to 20.8 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 2.3 percent, extending gains for a sixth consecutive session, as mainland property developers climbed after Evergrande Real Estate Group reported a 79.4 percent jump in property sales in September from a year earlier.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained a percent, with miners gaining ground after Rio Tinto said it posted record iron ore sales and steelmaking coal output in the third quarter. Shares of Rio Tinto closed up 2.8 percent, while fellow mining giant BHP Billiton gained 1.5 percent. The broader All Ordinaries index rose 0.9 percent. Linc Energy added 1.5 percent after the company which finalized a deal to buy oil fields in Texas from ERG Resources said it is studying two or three more deals in the Gulf coast. AMP added 2.2 percent after appointing a new chief financial officer.
In economic news, Australia's unemployment rate declined for the first time in six months in September as employers stepped up hiring after shedding jobs in the past two months, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell to 5.2 percent in September from 5.3 percent in August. Economists expected the rate to remain steady at 5.3 percent.
South Korea's Kospi average closed 0.8 percent higher on foreign fund buying, as optimism grew that Europe will tame its debt crisis. Automaker Hyundai Motor rose 2.2 percent and its parts maker Hyundai Mobis posted a modest 0.3 percent gain after the U.S. Congress ratified a free trade agreement with South Korea.
Hana Financial Group jumped 7 percent after U.S. private equity firm Lone Star decided not to appeal a Korean court verdict on stock-price manipulation against it. Air carriers Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines soared around 10 percent each as an appreciating South Korean won pointed to lower jet fuel costs.
The Bank of Korea today decided to keep interest rates unchanged at the current level of 3.25 percent for the fourth consecutive month, in line with expectations, and said that it expects the pace of decline in inflation to be modest in the coming months.
The New Zealand market extended its slide, with the benchmark index NZX-50 dropping 0.6 percent, after tapware maker Methven followed Fletcher Building in cutting its full-year profit forecast, citing a downturn in housing activity, especially in Australia. Shares of Fletcher Building tumbled 3.6 percent to a fresh two-year low, adding to yesterday's 12 percent plunge, while Methven plummeted 9.6 percent, carpet maker Cavalier fell 1.8 percent and Steel & Tube Holdings, the construction materials supplier, eased 0.9 percent.
OceanaGold bucked the downward trend to end 1.5 percent higher after the gold miner signed a joint venture agreement with Australia's MOD Resources to investigate the Sams Creek gold prospect in Nelson.
Elsewhere, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite was rising 1.1 percent, Malaysia's KLSE Composite was up 1.2 percent, the Taiwan Weighted added 0.6 percent and Singapore's Straits Times was little changed, while India's Sensex was last trading down 0.2 percent on profit taking after recent sharp gains.
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