Asian markets ends firm as US jobs, earnings data raises hopes to recovery

20 Jan 2012 Evaluate

Asian bourses ended firm on Friday as strong earnings and positive jobs data of the US added to hopes that the economic recovery in the world’s largest economy is for real. Chinese shares and commodities rose, shrugging off the HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI), the earliest indicator of China's industrial activity, which stood nearly steady at 48.8 in January from 48.7 in December. Meanwhile, it’s been reported that China’s PBOC has been doing a reverse-repo operation this week, totaling $95B, equivalent to a 75bp cut in the reserve requirement ratio. However, traders expect further cuts after the Lunar New Year. IBM Corp’s fourth-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations, while Bank of America and Morgan Stanley both reported results that were better than analysts were expecting, which helped lift shares in Japan’s major banks.

Asian Indices

Last Trade

Change in Points

Change in %

Shanghai Composite

2,319.12

23.04

1.00

Hang Seng

20,110.37

167.42

0.84

Jakarta Composite

3,986.51

-14.56

-0.36

Nikkei 225

8,766.36

126.68

1.47

Straits Times

2,849.38

38.18

1.36

Seoul Composite

1,949.89

34.92

1.82

Taiwan Weighted

-

-

-

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