[HONG KONG] Asian markets rose on Wednesday, supported by record gains in US share markets after stellar growth figures from the world' s top economy.

Tokyo opened 1.17 per cent higher, Hong Kong added 0.15 per cent, Seoul gained 0.38 and Sydney rose 0.22 per cent in morning trade.

Shanghai rebounded slightly after a three per cent drop the previous day, edging up 0.22 per cent.

Trade was thin ahead of the Christmas holiday, with half days in Hong Kong and Australia' s financial markets.

Figures showing US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 5.0 per cent in the third quarter - up from the previous estimate of 3.9 percent and well above analyst predictions of 4.3 per cent - lit a fire under world equities.

Wall Street hit fresh records after last week' s " Santa Claus rally," with the Dow stock index closing above 18,000 for the first time ever and the S& P 500 setting a new high.

It also supported the dollar, which advanced on renewed hopes the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before other leading central banks in mid-2015.

" It was another stellar day for US equities with a much better than expected revised GDP reading triggering the gains," said Stan Shamu at trading house IG Markets.

" The GDP reading also underpinned the greenback as it rallied against the Aussie, euro, yen and sterling." The US dollar was at 120.68 yen early Wednesday, compared with 120.71 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon.

The euro bought US$1.2173 and 146.96 yen against US$1.2171 and 146.94 yen in US trade.

In China, shares clawed back some gains after heading a slump in Asian markets Tuesday, with banks leading one of the biggest percentage falls of the year in Shanghai.

Shares had jumped more than 20 per cent since Beijing cut interest rates last month, rising above the 3,000 mark for the first time in three and a half years.

In Hong Kong, shares in China-based shopping mall developer Dalian Wanda added 0.64 per cent after closing lower on its first day of trading after a record-breaking IPO.

In Japan, shares in struggling Skymark Airlines fell 2.82 per cent on news Airbus was moving closer to filing a lawsuit over a failed US$2.2 billion jet order.

Sony was up 2.02 per cent after its Hollywood studio said it would screen " The Interview" in some US cinemas on Christmas Day, after originally cancelling the launch following a crippling cyber attack.

Oil prices edged lower in thin pre-holiday trade but analysts said losses were curbed by upbeat sentiment over robust US economic data.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for February delivery fell eight cents to US$57.04, while Brent crude for February eased 13 US cents to US$61.56.

Gold was at US$1,176.90 an ounce, compared with US$1,175.75 late Tuesday.

 

[NEW YORK] US stocks rose on Tuesday, with the Dow closing above 18,000 for the first time ever and the S& P 500 ending at a record after an unexpectedly strong report on economic growth.

The Nasdaq ended modestly lower, pressured by the biggest selloff in biotech names in many months, while trading was light ahead of the Christmas holiday. Markets will close early on Wednesday and will be closed all of Thursday.

Both the Dow and S& P 500 hit intraday records in their fifth-straight day of gains. The Dow rose as high as 18,069.22 and is up about 175 percent from a 12-year closing low hit on March 9, 2009. The S& P' s record close was its 51st such record this year.

The final estimate for third-quarter US economic growth was revised up to a 5 per cent annual pace, its quickest in 11 years and easily topping expectations for growth of 4.3 per cent. " Everyone is surprised, and I' m definitely pleased," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Phoenix Financial Services in New York. " But the question is, how can inflation be so low when GDP is so high? Either this is just a one-off and GDP will fall back dramatically, or we' ll see a pickup in inflation, which could put more pressure on the Fed." The report spurred a broad rally, with nine of the ten primary S& P 500 sectors higher on the day. The only group to fall was healthcare, down 2.2 per cent alongside a massive drop in biotech stocks.

The Nasdaq biotech index fell 4.6 per cent, its biggest one-day decline since April 10. Components of the index made up the top six percentage decliners on the S& P Celgene Corp fell 6.5 per cent to US$106.12 while Biogen lost 4.7 per cent to US$335.76. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals fell 4.6 per cent to US$394.05.

Gilead Pharmaceuticals fell 3.7 per cent to US$89.45, extending Monday' s drop of 14 per cent, which came after Express Scripts said it would abandon covering Gilead' s hepatitis C treatment in favor of a cheaper option. " This is just a knee-jerk reaction, based on a bear thesis that Express Scripts will start to dictate prices," said Kaufman. " I don' t see how this is any different than any other company in another sector getting more competition. Soon people will go through the stocks one-by-one to see which got oversold." The Dow Jones industrial average rose 64.67 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 18,024.11, the S& P 500 gained 3.64 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 2,082.18 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 16.00 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 4,765.42.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,990 to 1,090, for a 1.83-to-1 ratio on the upside on the Nasdaq, 1,399 issues rose and 1,353 fell for a 1.03-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The benchmark S& P 500 index was posting 124 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows the Nasdaq Composite was recording 182 new highs and 53 new lows.

About 5.41 billion shares traded on all US platforms, according to BATS exchange data, compared with the month-to-date average of 7.78 billion.

 

[HONG KONG] Asian markets dipped on Tuesday in thin trade despite a positive lead from Wall Street where indices reached fresh records ahead of the release of key US economic data.

Sydney fell 0.79 per cent, Shanghai dropped 0.73 per cent, and Seoul slipped 0.11 per cent in morning trade. Hong Kong rose 0.15 per cent while Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.

The slide in Asia came after investors in the United States remained buoyed by a Federal Reserve meeting last week and hoped for more good news from a heavy day of economic data releases Tuesday.

Last Wednesday, the Fed kept interest rates low and left in place expectations that it may wait until mid-2015 before raising them.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and broad-based S& P 500 hit new highs.

The Dow jumped 154.64 (0.87 per cent) to 17,959.44, a little less than a point above the previous record.

The S& P 500 advanced 7.89 points (0.38 per cent) to 2,078.54, about three points above the previous high December 5.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also rose, rising 0.34 per cent.

" Money is flowing to the US right now because it' s definitely in the healthiest position," Aaron Jett, vice president of global equity research at Bel Air Investment Advisors told Dow Jones Newswires.

Investors are looking to the release on Tuesday of US economic reports, including the third estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product and durable goods orders for November.

Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expect the agency to say the US economy grew at a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.3 per cent in the July-September quarter, up from its previous estimate of 3.9 per cent.

Overall trading is expected to be thin this week, with many investors away for Christmas and New Year.

" We are seeing a shortage of liquidity for trading purposes," said Hao Hong, managing director of research at Bank of Communications International.

The US dollar was at 120.13 yen in late-morning Singapore trade, up slightly from 120.07 yen in New York on Monday.

The euro bought US$1.2227 and 146.89 yen, against US$1.2226 and 146.80 yen in US trade.

On oil markets, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for February delivery gained 51 cents to US$55.77 while Brent crude for February was up 29 cents to US$60.40 in mid-morning trade.

Gold was at US$1,177.66 an ounce at 0410 GMT, compared to US$1,198.02 late Monday.

 

[NEW YORK] US stocks rose for a fourth straight session on Monday, with both the Dow and S& P 500 ending at records as large-cap technology shares gained and offset continued weakness in energy names.

Major indexes opened with slight gains but strengthened throughout the session, ending near their highs of the day. Despite that, trading was quiet with many market participants out ahead of the upcoming Christmas holiday.

About 6.41 billion shares traded on all US platforms, according to BATS exchange data, compared with the month-to-date average of 7.86 billion.

Tech was the strongest sector of the day, with the S& P information technology sector up 1.1 per cent. Intel Corp rose 2.3 per cent to US$37.21, providing the biggest boost to the Dow, while IBM rose 1.8 per cent to US$161.44 and Cisco Systems rose 1.6 per cent to US$28.22. Priceline Group rose 3.6 per cent to US$1,149.38. " I wouldn' t put a lot of weight on this week' s trading, given year-end maneuvers and how slow it is," said Rex Macey, chief allocation officer at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors in Atlanta, Georgia. " While I' m comfortable with the level of the broader market, I don' t think there are obvious bargains. Some may say oil stocks are bargains now, but it' s too soon to say." Crude oil sank 3.2 per cent after Saudi Arabia' s powerful oil minister said Opec would not cut production at any price. The S& P energy index fell 1 per cent as one of the day' s weakest sectors Chesapeake Energy fell 7.3 per cent to US$18.42 while Southwestern Energy was off 5.5 per cent at US$29.31.

Crude oil is coming off four straight weeks of declines, and has fallen in 11 of the past 12 completed weeks.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 154.64 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 17,959.44, the S& P 500 gained 7.89 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 2,078.54 and the Nasdaq Composite added 16.04 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 4,781.42.

Both the Dow and S& P ended at closing records, with the benchmark S& P building on a 3.4 per cent rise last week. That advance came after the US Federal Reserve said it would take a " patient" approach toward raising interest rates and oil prices appeared to stabilise.

Gilead slumped 14 per cent to US$92.90 as the biggest drag on both the S& P and Nasdaq 100. Express Scripts , the nation' s largest pharmacy benefit manager, said it would no longer cover Gilead' s treatments after it lined up a cheaper price from AbbVie Inc for its newly approved hepatitis C treatment.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc said it would test a combination of two of its experimental hepatitis C drugs which showed promise in separate studies. Shares surged 10 per cent to US$15.61.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,806 to 1,291, for a 1.40-to-1 ratio on the upside on the Nasdaq, 1,682 issues rose and 1,072 fell for a 1.57-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The benchmark S& P 500 index was posting 73 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows the Nasdaq Composite was recording 144 new highs and 36 new lows.

 

[NEW YORK] The S& P 500 closed out its biggest two-day advance since November 2011 on Thursday, extending a Federal Reserve-fueled rally from the previous session, while tech shares jumped after Oracle results.

The Dow industrials recorded the best one-day percentage gain since December 2011. The S& P 500 posted its biggest daily percentage gain since January 2013 and is up 4.5 per cent in the last two sessions.

Equities' rally followed the Fed' s upbeat assessment of the US economy on Wednesday and a commitment to take a " patient" approach toward raising interest rates.

A 3-per cent jump in the technology sector also helped Thursday' s advance. Oracle Corp jumped 10.2 per cent to US$45.35, a day after quarterly results topped Wall Street expectations. Shares of Apple climbed 3 per cent to US$112.65. " What happened this week was a game-changer. That easy money trade came to the forefront, and it' s so powerful it wipes out all of these concerns that exist," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 421.28 points, or 2.43 per cent, to 17,778.15, the S& P 500 gained 48.34 points, or 2.4 per cent, to 2,061.23 and the Nasdaq Composite added 104.08 points, or 2.24 per cent, to 4,748.40.

US crude fell 4.2 per cent, but the S& P Energy sector ended up 2.1 per cent.

The S& P 500 had fallen nearly 5 per cent from its most recent record high on Dec 5 before the strong gains on Wednesday and Thursday.

Earlier in the session, data showed weekly jobless claims fell more than expected, suggesting the labor market continues to strengthen. However, readings on the US services sector and mid-Atlantic factory activity indicated a slower pace of growth.

Rite Aid shares surged 11.9 per cent to US$6.78 after the drugstore chain' s quarterly results topped expectations and it boosted its 2015 outlook.

About 8.7 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, above the 7.5 billion average this month, according to BATS Global Markets.

NYSE advancers outnumbered decliners 2,522 to 589, for a 4.28-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq, 2,093 issues rose and 655 fell, for a 3.20-to-1 ratio favoring advancers

 

[NEW YORK] The S& P 500 scored its best day since October 2013 on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve gave an upbeat assessment of the economy and said it would take a patient approach toward lifting interest rates.

The rally, which followed a three-day losing streak, was also driven by a 4.2 per cent gain in the S& P energy index .

Following a two-day meeting, the US central bank gave a strong signal that it was on track to raise interest rates sometime next year. The Fed statement came against a backdrop of solid domestic economic growth but trouble overseas. " This is the market saying, ' Ah, I get it,' the Fed does not want to be in the business of disruption, this is a steady monetary policy and the Fed will continue to be supportive of asset prices," said Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman Private Banking in New York.

Also supporting stocks, Fed Chair Janet Yellen it was not a major concern that some banks may be leveraged and exposed to oil price moves. US and Brent oil are down roughly 50 per cent since June.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 288 points, or 1.69 per cent, to 17,356.87, the S& P 500 gained 40.15 points, or 2.04 per cent, to 2,012.89 and the Nasdaq Composite added 96.48 points, or 2.12 per cent, to 4,644.31.

All 10 S& P sector ended higher.

Shares of Exxon Mobil jumped 3 per cent to US$89.02. Energy shares have which has fallen sharply with the recent heavy selloff in oil prices.

Earlier in the day, data showed US consumer prices recorded their biggest drop in nearly six years in November as gasoline prices tumbled.

Shares of the Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund, a closed-end mutual fund listed on Nasdaq, hit a seven-year high as President Barack Obama announced a move to normalise relations between the United States and Cuba.

The fund, which holds stocks and assets that fund manager Thomas Herzfeld believes would benefit from an eventual end to the US economic embargo against Cuba, rose 28.9 per cent to US$8.78.

About 9.4 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, above the 7.3 billion average this month, according to BATS Global Markets.

NYSE advancing issues outnumbered decliners 2,777 to 353, for a 7.87-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq, 2,214 issues rose and 545 fell for a 4.06-to-1 ratio.