Tokyo leads most Asia markets up but fears linger

AFP, HONG KONG: A fall in the yen pushed Japan’s stock market higher yesterday, helping it lead a broad Asia-wide advance, although analysts said worries about the world economy and earnings would temper any rally.
World markets have been unable to maintain momentum after their progress in March, with concern growing that central banks may be running out of tools to kick-start growth and inflation.
Tokyo’s Nikkei, which has been among the worst performers this year, enjoyed a rare rally Tuesday to add 1.1 per cent , thanks to a dip in the yen, which supports exporters.
The dollar rose to 108.25 yen in Japanese trade, from 107.94 yen in New York, after Japan’s finance minister reiterated that officials could still intervene in forex markets to stem the yen’s steep rise. Taro Aso said authorities were ready to take action as needed if there were extreme movements in the foreign exchange market, Bloomberg News reported. The comments follow similar announcements last week from himself and the government’s top spokesman.
However, the greenback is still down about five per cent  from the start of the month as growing uneasiness sees traders shift into assets such as the yen which are considered a safe bet.
Dealers are also awaiting the upcoming corporate earnings season with trepidation. Mitsuo Shimizu, an equity strategist at Japan Asia Securities Group, told Bloomberg News: “Once we get bad earnings results it’s possible that we’ll see more disappointment.”
Wall of worry
The gains in Tokyo were followed across most of the region, with Hong Kong ending up 0.3 per cent  and Sydney 0.9 per cent  higher. Seoul, Singapore and Taipei were also in positive territory. In opening exchanges in Europe, London and Paris rose 0.1 per cent  while Frankfurt added 0.5 per cent.
However, Shanghai ended 0.3 per cent  lower after Monday’s climb, which was fuelled by upbeat inflation data that raised hopes China’s struggling economy may have turned a corner.
John Stoltzfus, chief market strategist at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York, said there was little momentum to drive any meaningful rally.
“The market lacks enough conviction to move stocks in any one direction for any one amount of time long enough for investors
to sink their teeth into and rack up performance,” he said.

 

Tokyo leads most Asia markets up but fears linger

AFP, HONG KONG: A fall in the yen pushed Japans stock market higher yesterday, helping it lead a broad Asia-wide advance, although analysts said worries about the world economy and earnings would temper any rally. World markets have been unable to maintain momentum after their progress in March, with concern growing that central banks may be running out of tools to kick-start growth and inflation. Tokyos Nikkei, which has been among the worst performers this year, enjoyed a rare rally Tuesday to add 1.1 per cent , thanks to a dip in the yen, which supports exporters. The dollar rose to 108.25 yen in Japanese trade, from 107.94 yen in New York, after Japans finance minister reiterated that officials could still intervene in forex markets to stem the yens steep rise. Taro Aso said authorities were ready to take action as needed if there were extreme movements in the foreign exchange market, Bloomberg News reported. The comments follow similar announcements last week from himself and the governments top spokesman. However, the greenback is still down about five per cent from the start of the month as growing uneasiness sees traders shift into assets such as the yen which are considered a safe bet. Dealers are also awaiting the upcoming corporate earnings season with trepidation. Mitsuo Shimizu, an equity strategist at Japan Asia Securities Group, told Bloomberg News: Once we get bad earnings results its possible that well see more disappointment. Wall of worry The gains in Tokyo were followed across most of the region, with Hong Kong ending up 0.3 per cent and Sydney 0.9 per cent higher. Seoul, Singapore and Taipei were also in positive territory. In opening exchanges in Europe, London and Paris rose 0.1 per cent while Frankfurt added 0.5 per cent. However, Shanghai ended 0.3 per cent lower after Mondays climb, which was fuelled by upbeat inflation data that raised hopes Chinas struggling economy may have turned a corner. John Stoltzfus, chief market strategist at Oppenheimer Co. in New York, said there was little momentum to drive any meaningful rally. The market lacks enough conviction to move stocks in any one direction for any one amount of time long enough for investors to sink their teeth into and rack up performance, he said.