Asian stocks mostly higher on US rally

Asian markets have mostly edged up, with a rally on Wall Street and an upbeat global economic outlook helped by receding fears of a US-led strike on Syria.

However, profit-taking on Wednesday capped gains after the previous two days' advances, while firms linked to Apple dipped in a lacklustre response to its latest range of iPhones.

Tokyo ended flat owing to a late sell-off as dealers cashed in after a four per cent gain since the weekend that was fuelled by Japan's successful bid to host the 2020 Olympics and stronger than expected growth data.

The Nikkei ended 1.71 points higher at 14,425.07, while Sydney added 0.64 per cent, or 33.2 points, to 5,234.4 -- a 2013 high. Seoul closed 0.49 per cent higher, advancing 9.79 points to 2,003.85.

Shanghai rose 0.15 per cent, adding 3.28 points to end at 2,241.27, after another round of Chinese indicators that suggest the world's number two economy is picking up after a slowdown this year. However, Hong Kong was 0.32 per cent down in the afternoon following four straight sessions of gains.

US President Barack Obama vowed in a national address in Washington on Tuesday to give diplomacy a chance before launching a military attack on Syria for using chemical weapons on its own people last month.

The Assad regime earlier in the day agreed to a proposal by Russia to 'place the chemical weapons under international control and then have them destroyed'.

The news soothed tensions on global markets, which slumped last month as traders bet on an attack by the US and its allies, which they feared could spark a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Improving confidence among investors helped the dollar up against the yen, which is considered a safer bet in times of uncertainty.

In the afternoon the greenback bought 100.43 yen, compared with 100.40 yen late New York and well up from the 99.60 yen in Asia on Tuesday.

The euro fetched 132.91 yen and $US1.3253 against 132.48 yen and $US1.3251.

Regional markets were given a positive lead by Wall Street on the back of the Syria developments and the economic data out of China and Japan that suggest a healthy pick-up in the global economy. The Dow rose 0.85 per cent, the SP 500 added 0.73 per cent and the Nasdaq advanced 0.62 per cent.

Oil prices were mixed as easing Syria woes reduced concern about supply from the Middle East. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October, eased 30 cents to $US107.09 a barrel in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for October gained 18 cents at $US111.43.

Both contracts had hit multi-month peaks in August, at the height of the Syrian crisis.

Apple-linked firms were broadly lower, with investors less than enthusiastic about the US firm's latest iPhones, which it unveiled on Tuesday. There was also disappointment that a trumpeted low-cost phone was not as cheap as had been hoped for.

Taiwanese assembler Hon Hai fell 1.3 per cent to Tw$76.00 and camera-lens supplier Largan shed 6.4 per cent to Tw$945.00, while in Tokyo parts supplier Murata Manufacturing Co. fell 2.6 per cent.

Gold cost $US1,367.60 an ounce at 0705 GMT compared with $US1,372.04 late Tuesday.

source: bigpondnews.com

Listless trading seen this week

Local stocks are expected to remain listless once trading resumes Wednesday as investors scramble for leads in an abbreviated trading week.

Markets were closed Monday due to the holiday ending the Muslim holy month and remain closed Tuesday, which has been declared Ninoy Aquino Day.

In a research note to its clients, AB Capital Securities said sentiment this week would likely be driven by developments abroad, given that the local earnings season has already ended.

“One important event [this] week will be the Federal Reserve’s release of Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes, which will give insights into the US financial and economic conditions for the month,” AB Capital’s Gregg Adrian Ilag said.

He noted, however, that stocks on the Philippine Stock Exchange were now trading at an average of 16 times their earnings on a per-share basis, which he said was a premium to historical valuations.—Daxim L. Lucas

source: http://business.inquirer.net/77878/listless-trading-seen-this-week

Facebook falls flat in market debut

NEW YORK — Facebook shares stumbled Friday after an early surge faded, dampening optimism over the much-anticipated debut for the world’s biggest social network.

The stock appeared headed for a flat close after a roller-coaster session.

The shares, priced at $38 on Thursday in the largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) for a technology company, jumped 12 percent to $42.55 in the opening Nasdaq trades but within minutes fell back to the offering price.

A midday rally pushed the price back up but just ahead of the close the price fell back to $38.

“The negativity in the market overall has put a damper on the IPO,” said Darren Hayes, a Pace University professor and former investment banker.

“It’s not uncommon in an IPO to see a big rise and then for the price to come back down, but I’m a bit surprised (by the market action) after all the hype.”

“I think there may be some skeptical investors who see some challenges in the long-term outlook of the company.”

Gerard Hoberg, an economist at the University of Maryland said there was enthusiasm from some buyers but skepticism from professionals.

“What I think is going on is you have a lot of bullishness from retail investors, people who use Facebook, and there’s a lot of those investors creating a lot of buying pressure,” he said.

“But professionals who were looking at the numbers behind Facebook had a lot more doubts, and that is cooling the issue quite a bit.”

Hoberg said the market introduction “is not a disaster by any stretch, and you also could say that the Facebook owners are quite pleased because they didn’t leave a lot of money on the table. But it will not be a pleasant taste in people’s mouths if Facebook falls below $38 anytime in the near future.”

A report on the Business Insider financial blog said the price did not fall below $38 because of a large number of standing orders at the offering price. The Wall Street Journal said the underwriting investment banks also stepped in to support the price.

Lou Kerner of the Social Internet Fund said the market action suggests the IPO was correctly priced.

“The company raised a ton of money, lots of early investors, employees, and founders were able to monetize shares, and it’s trading up a little, so the new investors did OK,” he said.

James Hughes, chief market analyst at London’s Alpari said “the real value of Facebook is not likely to be known until the hype of the IPO has died away and investor have been able to digest how the company is going evolve to be the money-making machine many expect it to be.”

source: interaksyon.com