BEIJING, China – Asian stock markets were mostly higher Monday after Wall Street ended the week up, a Turkish military coup failed and China reported better economic data.
KEEPING SCORE: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.2 per cent to 21,693.96 points and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.5 per cent to 5,456.70. India’s Sensex rose 0.5 per cent to 27,987.03 and benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore and New Zealand also gained. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.2 per cent to 3,051.82. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
WALL STREET: All three major stock indexes ended up for a third straight week after the government reported stronger consumer sales. The Commerce Department said retail spending rose 2.7 per cent in June from a year earlier. The Labor Department reported consumer prices rose a modest 1 per cent in June from a year ago, suggesting that the Federal Reserve may take its time raising interest rates from the record lows that have helped push stocks higher. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 10.14 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 18,516.55. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 2.01 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,161.74. The Nasdaq composite lost 4.47 points, or 0.1 per cent, to end at 5,029.59.
TURKEY’S COUP: Emerging market stocks were jolted by Friday’s failed coup attempt, but financial analysts said the downturn was likely to be short. The Russian ruble, Mexican peso, South African rand and other currencies fell against the dollar. “A bit of a pullback may be in order in the wake of the Turkish coup, but the hunt for yield in this global low rate environment is likely to see funds flow back in into higher yielding EM assets,” Angus Nicholson of IG said in a report.
CHINA’S OUTLOOK: Growth in the world’s second-largest economy held steady at 6.7 per cent over a year earlier in the second quarter of the year, supported by better-than-expected factory output and retail sales. That prompted suggestions that efforts to reverse a steady decline in growth are gaining traction, though some analysts warned the second half might be more challenging. “The outlook towards risk assets is further supported by better than expected China data,” Citigroup analysts said in a report. “Together with stability in renminbi this is likely to diffuse the tail risks investors worry about.”
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 2 cents to $45.97 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 27 cents on Friday to close at $45.95. Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 20 cents to $47.81 per barrel in London. The contract gained 24 cents the previous session to $47.61.
CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 105.52 yen from Friday’s 104.81 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1062 from $1.1037.
