Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Asia: US home sales, UBS lifts buyer appetite

The Hang Seng moved out of the red, closing around 130 points higher, as focus turned to better than expected US home sales data and as UBS profits came in ahead of forecasts.

The Swiss bank posted better than expected quarterly net profits of 2bn Swiss francs in the quarter to end June. Analysts had forecast a profit of around 1.3bn Swiss francs.

Renewed optimism in the global outlook encouraged interest in the banking sector.
HSBC rose 1.74% and Bank of China added 0.48%.

Developer 
Wharf Holdings slid 1.7% after its recent surge while Sino Land fell 1.3%.

On a brighter note retailer 
Esprit Holdings rose 0.9%, spurred by a solidperformance among US equities overnight.
China State Construction International rallied 5% after Citigroup placed a 'buy' recommendation on the stock.

The Hang Seng index rose 133 points to 20,973 in Hong Kong.

The Nikkei turned lower on Tuesday, after a positive start, as exporters wiped out most of the previous session’s gains.
Canon slipped 0.42% in Tokyo while Toyota skidded 1.13%. Ntt Docomo fell 0.22%.

Banks held onto gains after a solid performance from US peers overnight. Shares in
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial added 1.29% while Mizuho Financial rallied 2.21%.

The Nikkei 225 index closed down 6 points at 9,497 in Tokyo.

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