MW: Stocks hold on to gains as Obama declared winner
By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian markets jumped Wednesday, with energy and exporter shares holding on to their sharp gains as investors hoped the U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's administration will reinvigorate the world's largest economy.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 5.7% to end the morning trading session at 15,196.87, after advancing in five of the previous six sessions. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index spiked 9.3% to 7,499.59.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Average climbed 2.5% to 9,342.90 in the afternoon, while the broader Topix index soared 4.3% to 950.30.
"I don't think people are expecting a quick solution to the economic situation, but there is a bit of euphoria over the elections," said Ric Klusman, institutional trader at Aequs Securities in Sydney.
Klusman added that investors were expecting another rally on Wall Street later Wednesday, following Obama's decisive win.
China's Shanghai Composite climbed 4.2% to 1,778.65, Australia's S&P/ASX rose 2.6% to 4,326.20 and South Korea's Kospi added 3.8% to 1,197.24, while New Zealand's NZX 50 index advanced 1.5% to 2,886.11.
Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 4.4% to 1,909.88 and Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.7% to 5,025.68.
India's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, climbed 0.8% to 10,715.49 in early trading.
Regional markets, which rallied strongly after steep overnight gains on Wall Street, held on to their gains as news broke that Obama, the Democratic nominee, rode massive voter turnout to victory over Sen. John McCain and became the first African-American to be elected U.S. President. See full story.
"Sentiment has improved as people are expecting that the worst is already over," said Francis Lun, general manager at Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong. "It is being speculated that the new president will introduce measures that will help improve the economy and the markets."
Leading the market gains in Tokyo, shares of Canon Inc. surged 11.1% and Toyota Motor Corp. jumped 7.8%.
Fujitsu advanced 12.7% after the company said it will acquire Siemens' 50% stake in their IT infrastructure joint venture for 450 million euros ($570 million).
In Seoul, shares of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. ) soared 6.3% and Hyundai Motor Co. rallied 3.8%, while Inotera Memories Inc. jumped 6.9% in Taipei.
Ranking among losers, shares of Fast Retailing Co. slumped 6.6% in Tokyo a day after the company reportedly said same-store sales at the Uniqlo clothing chain fell 2.5% in October from the year-ago month for the first time in six months.
In Hong Kong, shares of fixed-line operator PCCW flared 29.3% as trading resumed for the first time since Oct. 14. The surge came a day after the company's two large shareholders, Pacific Century Regional Developments and China Network Communications Group Corp., said they plan to take PCCW private by buying out the remaining shareholders for HK$15.49 billion ($2 billion).
Chinese banking stocks raced ahead in Hong Kong, spurred by the gains in Shanghai trading. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China stock jumped 7.6% and China Construction Bank soared 11.3%. In Shanghai, ICBC shares rose 4.6%, while Bank of Communications advanced 6.9%.
Energy stocks also rallied after crude-oil prices finished above $70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight, with BHP Billiton jumping 5.6% in Sydney.
In Hong Kong, shares of Cnooc surged 7.7% and Petrochina Co. jumped 8.1%, while in Tokyo, shares of energy trader Marubeni Corp. climbed 7.5%.
December crude-oil prices soared 10.4%, or $6.62 to end at $70.53 a barrel on the Nymex. Recently, the front-month contract fell 98 cents to $69.55 a barrel in electronic trading.
In the currency markets, the U.S. dollar bought 99.82 yen, compared with 99.71 yen late Tuesday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 3.3% to 9,625.28 and the S&P 500 index rose 4.1% to 1,005.75, while the Nasdaq Composite added 3.1% to 1,780.12.
