Asia-Pacific equities in significant gains

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were significantly higher on Thursday on good news from several directions. New data showed that Japan’s economy grew more than had been expected in the fourth quarter of last year. Meanwhile, consumer confidence was reported higher in South Korea and retail sales grew in the United States. The Shanghai Composite was up 1.37 percent to 4,552.32. In Australia the Sydney Ordinaries added 2.37 percent to 5,748.2 and the S&P/ASX200 was 2.57 percent higher to 5,684.8. The FTSE Straits Times Index gained 3.26 percent to 3,045.59 in Singapore while the Hang Seng added 3.68 percent to 24,021.68 in Hong Kong. South Korea’s Kospi index was up 4.02 percent to 1,697.45 while Taiwan’s Taiex was 4.17 percent higher to 7,865.28 and the Sensex gained 4.82 percent to 17,766.63 in India.

Tokyo’s markets soared as the Nikkei 225 added 3.66 percent to 1,332.44 while the Topix was up 4.27 percent to 13,626.45 and the Mother’s market of small and mid-caps gained 3.49 percent to 610.97. The gains came on the news that Japan’s economy grew by 3.7 percent in the 4th quarter of 2007 after growth of only 1.3 percent in the 3rd quarter. The semiconductors sector and carmakers saw gains, as did the electronics sector, construction machinery manufacturers, and chemicals sector.

European markets were mixed on the session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up, but only by 0.02 percent to 1,334.52. While the CAC-40 added 0.07 percent to 4,858.65 and the IBEX gained 0.35 percent to 13,313.2, the Dax dropped 0.16 percent to 6,962.28. Utilities and construction groups saw gains and the semiconductors sector was mixed. Banks, airlines, and car and truck makers were all lower.

London’s markets were mixed as well. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.01 percent to 5,879.3 while the FTSE 250 gained 0.93 percent to 10,089.2. The mining sector saw gains and most in the oil sector were higher. Insurers and the retail sector were mixed. Banks were mostly lower, while airlines saw declines.

Wall Street saw declines in early afternoon trade after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke indicated a willingness to cut interest rates more and said that the economy will be “sluggish” until later in the year. The Dow Jones Industrial average dropped 1.14 percent to 12,409.58 after Mr. Bernanke’s remarks. The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.47 percent to 2,339.09 while the S&P 500 fell 1.09 percent to 1,352.36. While the Labor Department reported that 9,000 fewer new unemployment claims were filed last week, after last month’s job losses analysts and investors worried that consumer caution will hurt the economy. Banks were lower on Mr. Bernanke’s comments and on reports of losses from a Swiss bank. Bond insurers saw gains on good news from a major member of the sector.

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