After a roller-coaster October, Asian stock markets started November with widespread gains.
Japan was the notable exception, with the Nikkei NIK, -0.78% down 0.5% amid caution over U.S. trade policies and the upcoming midterm elections. The telecom sector fell 6.3%, by far the worst among 33 Topix sectors, after NTT DoCoMo said it would cut mobile service charges. NTT DoCoMo 9437, -11.67% was down 11% while fellow telecom KDDI 9433, -15.67% dropped 15% and SoftBank Group 9984, -7.94% sank 6.9%. Panasonic 6752, -8.44% was also sharply down.
Meanwhile, Chinese stocks surged Thursday, with Hong Kong‘s Hang Seng Index HSI, +1.56% jumping 1.4%. Apple Inc. AAPL, +2.61% suppliers Sunny Optical 2382, +5.88% and AAC Tech 2018, +5.78% , rose 3.6% and 3.8%, respectively, a day after Apple unveiled new computers and iPads. Country Garden 2007, +7.75% and China Overseas Land 0688, +3.05% rose 8.2% and 3.2%, respectively, after what UOB Kay Hian analyst Ivan Ip called an upbeat assessment on mainland China’s construction recovery from yesterday’s PMI reading. Among the losers, CLP Holdings 0002, -1.59% was down 1.3% and Power Assets 0006, -1.24% slipped 1.1%.
Mainland China benchmarks continued higher, as the latest Politburo meeting called for “healthy development” of the capital market, with Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +1.02% gaining 1.1%. The smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite 399106, +1.72% was up 1.5%, following its seventh straight monthly decline. Some AI-related names popped, boosted by President Xi Jinping’s pep talk, while infrastructure stocks outperformed the boarder market.
Australia’s ASX 200 XJO, +0.06% rose 0.3%, as BHP Billiton BHP, +3.14% rose after announcing a plan to give $10.4 billion from its shale sale to investors via an equally split buyback and special dividend. Stocks in New Zealand NZ50GR, +0.89% rose as well.
Taiwan’s Taiex Y9999, +0.28% gained 0.5% despite fears that the country’s economic slowdown could be worse than it seems, after third-quarter GDP grew 2.28% year-over-year, slower than the previous quarter’s 3.3% expansion. Benchmark indexes in South Korea SEU, +0.69% , Singapore STI, +0.94% and Malaysia FBMKLCI, -0.18% all posted solid gains.
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