US CONSUMER CONFIDENCE GIVES WINGS TO ASIAN EXCHANGES
Le Asian bags they started running again, after yesterday's setback, thanks to good new arrivals from the United States. In particular, consumer confidence in the US it grew to its highest level in the last six years (82,3 in March), fueling investor optimism about the near future of the world's largest economy.
On the securities front, Samsung Electronics, the consumer electronics maker that makes a fifth of its revenue in the United States, grew 1,4 percent. Fortescue Metals, an Australian iron ore group, gained 3,1% in Sydney on a day when commodity stocks were the fastest gainers of the ten groups represented in the regional index. Kirin Holdings jumped 2,8% on news that the beverage company will raise its annual dividend by at least 40 yen and that the group is considering a share buyback.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index it was up 0,6% at 135.10 as of 9:28am in Tokyo, with at least four stocks up for each stock down. Japan's Topix was up 0,8% at a time when markets in China and Hong Kong were still closed. South Korea's Kospi was also up 0,8%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0,9% and New Zealand's NZX 50 was up 0,3%.
“The market is becoming convinced that previous negative data was due to bad weather in the winter' commented Sydney Sean Fenton, fund manager of Tribeca Investment Partners. "Now, given these early positive signs and China's stabilization, there's a good chance we're over the worst."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-26/asian-stocks-rise-as-u-s-consumer-confidence-jumps.html
