Asian stocks rose on a day when the region's credit risk reached a three-week low, also following the rebound in the US market. The MSCI Asia Pacific index was up 1,1% as of 12:20 in Tokyo and Japan's Topix was up 1,8%. The Hang Seng also did well, up 1,1%. Markets are now awaiting results from Boeing, Simon Property Group and Xerox after Apple's sales forecasts dragged up the Nasdaq index which soared to its highest levels since January 2013. Core prices slowed more than expected in Australia and the data on US inflation is expected for today.
“This is a typical correction market,” explains Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors in Sydney. “Sentiment is pushed to lows, markets are undervalued again, and investors are finding new investment opportunities.”
Tech companies provided the most support to Asia-Pacific markets following fresh news from Apple and Yahoo. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing gained 2,4%, Tencent Holdings, the largest operator of instant messaging services in China, jumped 2,9 percent. Samsung Electronics also did well, up 1,6 percent.
The MSCI Hong Kong Index rallied 3,1% in October, totaling the best performance of the 23 developed markets tracked by MSCI. The index of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong advanced by 1,5% yesterday, while the Shanghai Composite rose by 0,5%.
