Asian Markets Review – August 26th 2010

Nikkei Bounced on Yen's Retreat, China Life Weighed on Hang Seng

Nikkei 225 average recovered from lows on Thursday, ending the day at 8,906.48 or up 0.69% as yen weakened against the US dollar and also from the late rally on Wall Street which brought the US equity indexes back from underwater. In Shanghai, the Shanghai Stock Exchange also gained 6.90 points or 0.27% to end at 2,603.48. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index however, fell 22.92 points to 20,612.06 or 0.11% below Wednesday’s close.

Among gainers in Japan, Kyocera advanced 1.97% to 7,240 yen, Nikon to end at 1,398 yen or up 1.90%, while Honda Motor gained 1.77% to 2,766 yen. Sony and Tokyo Electron were in the red as they ended 0.42% and 0.25% lower, respectively.

Corporate news came from Canon who indicated that it might have to raise output overseas and review product prices should the yen strength continues. Yen’s recent strength has worried Japanese exporters as strong yen is seen to erode export sales. Another came from Toyota who planned to release its Etios hatchback in India starting from early 2011. First year sales of Etios are aiming for 70,000 units. Lexus is also another brand considered to be released in India.

Dollar went up against yen as jitters reigned over the markets on the potential action from the government regarding yen’s strength. The greenback gained against yen to 84.68 while the euro also rose against yen to 107.79.

In Hong Kong, China Life reported first-half results which showed increase of net profits by 7.4% from last year. Meanwhile, Ping An Insurance delivered a 28.5% jump in net profit during the first-half 2010, leading to an increase of its price target to HK$88 from HK$80 by Credit Suisse. China Life fell 6.3% upon the report and ended at HK$30.65, a major drag to Hang Seng index. Poor results from China Life sent its target cut to HK$39 from HK$45 by Morgan Stanley, while Credit Suisse downgraded its rating to NEUTRAL from OUTPERFORM with target set at HK$37 from HK$42. Regarding AIA’s IPO, China Life Chairman said that the company was still undecided on whether to invest or not in the IPO, but plans to focus on bonds for investments as well as deposits in 2H. The chairman also added that China Life has no near-term financing needs.

PetroChina announced a 29% increase in net profit during 1H to 65.3 billion yuan, lower than the consensus of 68.7 billion yuan. Lower results were due to the government’s controls on tariffs of gasoline and diesel even as the crude oil prices were higher. PetroChina was up 0.36% at HK$8.48.

China Resources also delivered its first-half report which showed its net profit more than tripled from a year earlier. A major factor behind the rise was a gain from the sale of its brand-fashion distribution unit. Net profit amounted to HK$4.24 billion, up from HK$1.16 billion, while revenue was up 19.8% to HK$41.98 billion from HK$35.05 billion. First-half dividend stayed unchanged at HK$0.14. The shares were unchanged by the end of the day at HK$31.55.

The third biggest lender in China, Bank of China said that its first-half net profit was up 27% as demand for loans and asset quality improved. The H-shares were settled at HK$3.96, unchanged from the previous day. Elsewhere, the BOC-Hong Kong also reported its results for the same period. Earnings per share were at HK$0.68 per share, 7.5% higher than HK$0.6329 per share a year ago. Net profit was up 7.5% to HK$7,190 million. Interim dividend was up 40.4% to HK$0.40 per share. At the closing time, BOC-HK was at HK$20.05 or down 1.23%.

In the telecommunication sector, China Telecom was upgraded to OVERWEIGHT from NEUTRAL by HSBC while its target was raised to HK$4.40 from HK$3.60. Another change in upgrades and downgrades was from Cosco Pacific which had its target raised to HK$13.80 from HK$12.50 by Credit Suisse.

Next Tuesday, ICBC plans to sell convertible bonds worth 25 billion yuan which are to be converted to its Shanghai-listed shares. In addition, 45 billion yuan is also to be raised through a rights offer in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Earlier, ICBC said that 2Q net profit was up 38% as margins widened and demand for loans and fee-based services were up. ICBC stayed unchanged compared to prior day at HK$5.59.