Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Investors Hub
Asian markets rose on Thursday, reflecting investor confidence in the global economic outlook following comments from central bankers around the world.
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney indicated on Wednesday that monetary stimulus may need to be withdrawn to some extent in the future if U.K. wages pick up and business investment strengthens. Separately, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz told CNBC that low rates “have done their job.”
The dollar wallowed at one-year lows against the euro despite media reports suggesting that markets misinterpreted comments made a day earlier by ECB President Mario Draghi about adjustment in the central bank’s monetary stimulus.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 14.70 points or 0.5 percent to 3,187.90 as investors awaited monthly indexes on factory and service sector activity on Friday for further clues on the world’s second-largest economy. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 281.92 points or 1.1 percent to 25,965.42.
Japanese shares closed near their highest level in nearly two years as the yen held steady despite North Korea’s warning that the country would keep building up its nuclear arsenal regardless of sanctions, pressure or a military attack.
Investors also shrugged off weak retail sales figures, which showed that Japanese retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 1.6 percent sequentially in May.
The Nikkei 225 Index rose 89.89 points or 0.5 percent to 20,220.30, while the broader Topix index closed 0.6 percent higher at 1,624.07. Advantest Corp rose 0.8 percent and Shin-Etsu Chemical added 1 percent after gains by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Meanwhile, Toshiba tumbled 3.7 percent after the company said it had filed a $1 billion lawsuit against its joint venture partner Western Digital (WDC), accusing the U.S. hard-drive maker of interfering with the sale process of its flash memory chip unit.
Australian shares posted strong gains for a second straight day, with materials and financial stocks pacing the gainers, as commodity prices inched higher and the Federal Reserve allowed all 34 of the biggest banks in the U.S. to ramp up their dividend payouts and buy back shares.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 62.40 points or 1.1 percent to 5,818.10, while the broader All Ordinaries index finished 59.80 points or 1 percent higher at 5,855.90.
The big four banks rose between 1.6 percent and 2.4 percent, Bank of Queensland gained 2.4 percent and investment bank Macquarie Group advanced 2.2 percent.
Miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group rose about 3 percent each, while energy majors Woodside Petroleum, Santos and Oil Search climbed 2-5 percent.
On the other hand, online real estate advertiser REA Group shed 0.8 percent after saying it would incur a non-cash impairment charge of about A$180 million in its full-year results due to weak market conditions in Asia. Aveo Group tumbled 3.2 percent and BWP Trust lost 2.9 percent.
