Ayodele Aminu With Agency Reports
6 November 2008
(Page 2 of 2)
Boosted by firmer commodity prices amid the weakening dollar, mining counters added the most points to JSE's all share index, which ended 2.43 per cent, or 514,31 points higher at 21649,580.
The Asia Pacific stock market also rallied yesterday as investors broadly welcomed Obama's victory.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average ended on the day's high with a gain of 4.5 per cent. Hong Kong shares rose by 6.5 per cent in their first hour of trading. Singapore gained as much as 5.7 per cent and South Korea's maximum gain was 5.6 per cent.
Trading in Asia had at first taken its cue from an election day rally on Wall Street last Tuesday night, where the S&P 500 index rose 4.1 per cent to a three-week high.
That was not sustained. Markets had been falling from their early highs shortly before John McCain formally acknowledged that Obama had won, but then bounced back a bit. Gains were more modest as markets closed.
Overall, the FTSE Asia Pacific index was 4.7 per cent higher at one stage, before falling back to 176.7 - a gain of 4.4 per cent.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average closed 4.5 per cent higher at 9,521.24 and the broader Topix index was 6.2 per cent higher at 966.91
Exporters put in a strong performance, as investors hoped Obama's $175bilillion plans for tax credits and public spending would boost confidence in a major market.
Japan's biggest car maker, Toyota Motor rose by 10.4 per cent to Y4,250 and Honda gained 13.4 per cent to Y2,745. The electronics company Canon increased by 12.8 per cent to Y3,970 and the games maker Nintendo was up 10.9 per cent at Y36,000. The chipmaker Elpida Memory rose by 17.4 per cent to Y674.
Banks also benefited, as credit markets have eased substantially over the past few days as central banks from Japan to Australia have cut the cost of borrowing, and pumped billions of dollars into the financial system.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's biggest, rose by 10.8 per cent to Y698, Mizuho Financial was 16.1 per cent higher at Y288,400 and Resona climbed 13.3 per cent to Y124,200.
Obama's backing for alternative energy helped makers of wind turbines. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries gained 14 per cent to Y388 and South Korea, Yonghyun BM, rose 15 per cent to Won14,650. Solargiga, a Chinese maker of electricity-generating solar panels, rose by 5.5 per cent to HK$2.51.
Overall in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index, which had led the region's rally during the morning session, closed 3.2 per cent higher at 14,840.16; the main sub-index of mainland companies listed in the territory was 5.3 per cent higher at 7,225.69.
One of the biggest gains had nothing to do with the US election: PCCW, Hong Kong's biggest phone company, rose by 26.9 per cent to HK$3.68 after the chairman, Richard Li, offered HK$14.9bn to take the company private in partnership with China Network Communications.
BHP Billiton, which is the world's largest miner and Australia's biggest oil producer, rose by 8.5 per cent to A$31.60. Macarthur Coal rose by 11.1 per cent to A$7.60. Overall the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 2.9 per cent higher in Sydney at 4,336.60.
Elsewhere in Asia, in Seoul, the Kospi closed 2.4 per cent higher at 1,181.50 and in Singapore, the Straits Times Index was 2.4 per cent higher late in the afternoon session at 1,874.28.
In India, the Sensex was 2.4 per cent lower by mid afternoon in Mumbai at 10,380.41.
But the Ghana Stock Exchange All-Share Index remained closed flat at 10,752.34.The GSE has recorded a growth of over 62.95 pre cent from the beginning of the year to date.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
