Hang Seng adds over 3 percent on session

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Friday, but gainers outnumbered losers and generally gained more than decliners lost on the session. In India, the Sensex dropped 0.02 percent to 17,773.36, while Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.11 percent to 9,617.26 and the Kospi index was down 0.38 percent to 1,996.03 in South Korea. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.57 percent to 6,617.3 while the S&P/ASX200 was up 0.59 percent to 6,605.4. The Straits Times index gained 1.03 percent to 3,822.62 in Singapore, while the Shanghai Composite was 2.64 percent higher to 5,552.3. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 3.18 percent to 27,831.52.

Tokyo’s markets were mixed on the session. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.16 percent to 17,065.04, but the Topix index added 0.08 percent to 1,656.91 while the Mothers market gained 3.98 percent to 848.78. The electronics sector was lower, but the oil sector, traders, the consumer finance sector, and some retailers all saw gains.

Markets were higher in Europe to end the week. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.62 percent to 1,582.48. In Paris, the CAC-40 was 0.67 percent higher to 5,843.24 while the Dax added 0.73 percent to 8,002.18 in Frankfurt and Madrid’s IBEX jumped 1.18 percent to 14,892.1. Financial planners, steel, carmakers and construction materials groups were all higher. Builders, media groups and the semiconductors sector saw declines.

Miners led the way in London as the FTSE 100 added 0.73 percent to 6,595.8 and the FTSE 250 gained 11,390.4. Besides miners, construction groups and the internet sector saw gains. Some banks and mortgage lenders as well as house builders and property developers were lower on the session.

Markets were higher in midday trade on Wall Street after the US Labor Department reported that 110,000 new jobs were created in September, near expected levels, although unemployment was also higher, up to 4.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.67 percent to 14,067.31, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 1.43 percent to 2,772.76 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.79 percent to 1,554.98. Internet search engines, electronics manufacturers, banks and retailers were all higher.

Story link: Hang Seng adds over 3 percent on session