Asian Markets, Fundamentals

Stocks in Asia/Pacific Mixed, Australia’s Business Confidence Rises for Second Month

Asia Session Key Developments

• Australian Shares Rally for Eight Straight Day
• Japan’s Machine Tool Orders Post largest Increase on Record

Stocks in Asia/Pacific were mixed on Tuesday following a lackluster performance on Wall Street. Meanwhile, the economic docket showed business confidence in Australia advanced for the second straight month in February, with the NAB index increasing to 19 from 15 from the previous month, while job ads in the region leapt the most in a decade during the same period after rising 19.1% from January. Moreover, Japan’s leading index rose to 97.1 during the first month of 2010, extending the reading’s 10-month advance, while machine tool orders in the region jumped at an annualized pace of 217.3% in February, posting its largest increase since records began in 1987.

Nikkei 225                          10,567.65

Stocks in Japan pared yesterday’s advance, leading the Nikkei 225 to retreat 18.27 points (0.17%) on Tuesday and close at 10,567.65. Eight out of the ten components tumbled on the day, with telecommunications leading the way, shedding 1.37%, while industrials added 0.09%. Shares of NTT Data rallied 2.15% as the network-services company plans to scale back its domestic group in order to cut costs, while Nippon Light Metal tipped 0.93% higher as the company publicized that it will sell an aluminum subsidiary to housing-material manufacture JS Group Corp. In addition, Mazda Motor rose 0.43% following the company’s announcement that it will install brake override systems in all new models, while JTKET sank 3.01%  subsequent to Credit Suisse slashing the company’s credit rating from “outer perform” to “neutral.”

Hang Seng                        21,207.55

The Hong Kong equity market pushed higher on Tuesday for the third successive day, leading the benchmark equity index to rise 10.68 points (0.05%) and close at 21,207.55. Two out of the nine components rose on the day, with utilities rising 0.34%, while consumer goods retreated 2.69%. Shares of China Life Insurance added 2.98% as the company expects net profit to climb more than 200% in 2009, while China Mobile inched 0.14% higher amid the mobile company stating that it was in preliminary talks with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank on a potential subscription of the bank’s new shares. Moreover, Aluminum Corporation of China lost 0.85% on the back of lower metal prices, while Cathay Pacific Airways slipped 0.14% as February air cargo tonnage throughput from the Hong Kong air cargo terminals sank 15.3% in February from the month prior.

S&P/ASX 200 Index           4,820.10

Shares in Australia rallied for an eighth consecutive session on Tuesday, leading the S&P/ASX 200 to increase 12.20 points (0.25%) and close at 4,820.10. Seven out of the ten components pushed higher on the day, with health care adding 0.68%, while technology fell 1.67% to taper the advance. Shares of Seek gained 1.07% following a marked rise in advertisements for job vacancies, while Fortescue Metals Group slumped 0.62% on the back of lower metal prices. At the same time, UGL shed 1.61% after UBS lowered its rating on the stock to “neutral” from “buy,” while Harvey Norman edged 0.51% higher on the back of Australian business confidence increasing in February for the second straight month.

Notable Asian Session Event Risk / Economic Releases