—– The Nikkei index in Tokyo closed higher. It rose almost 3% in the short term, supported by good earnings reports from Japanese companies, and due to buying pressure after the Nikkei fell to a two-month low the day before. Gainers were led by JGC Corp+20.48%, Fujikura+16.78%, and Citizen Holdinges+15.07%. Casio Computer-13.85%, Secom-11.21%, and Konica Minolta, Inc.-8.87% were the losers of the day.
The NIKKEI 225 closed at 26,427.65, up 678.93 or +2.64%.
—– South Korea’s stock market composite index closed in positive territory again after the market had closed in negative territory for eight consecutive days. In addition, the won was able to gain against the U.S. dollar. The gainers yesterday were Kwang Myung EI+29.95%, IIdong Holdings+24.07%, and HLB Global+17.10%. The losers were led by Sewon E&C-26.83%, BK Tops-24.67%, and Dongbu Steel-18.12%.
The South Korean Stock Exchange Composite Index (KOSPI) closed today at 2,604.24, up 54.16 or +2.12%.
—– The Australian stock market S&P/ASX 200 closed higher. Big jumps yesterday were made by Polynovo+14.04%, Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals+13.46%, and Codan+9.62%. The stocks that suffered losses yesterday were led by Nuix-6.07%, IGO Ltd-3.48%, and Reece-3.10%.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed at 7,075.10, up 134.10, or +1.93%.
The All Ordinaries Index closed at 7,307.70, up 141.10, or +1.97%.
—– Shanghai Composite Index, Chinese stocks closed higher, but continue to be weighed down by the zero-COVID strategy. During the week, the President of WHO had spoken out, calling the zero-COVID strategy unsustainable. Yesterday’s gainers included Zhewen Pictures (+10.15%), Nanjing Tanker (+10.12%), and Guilin Fuda (+10.07%). Losers included Guangxi Nanning Waterworks -10.05%, CCS Supply Chain -10.02%, and Anhui Water Resources -9.93%.
The Shanghai Composite Index was at 3,084.28, up 29.29 or +0.96%.
—– The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closed higher, driven by speculative buying after the market fell more than 400 points yesterday. The bulk of stocks closed higher yesterday with Alibaba Health Information Tech making a whopping jump of 10.75%. China’s major automakers also made decent gains again with BYD +5.05% and Geely +8.14%. Internet giant Alibaba managed a small rebound with +2.75% after several days in the red. The few losing are led by Haidilao Intl-0.45%, MTR-0.47%, and Nongfu Spring-0.12%.
The Hang Seng Index closed at 19,898.77 points, up 518.43 points or 2.68%.
—– The Thai stock market stabilized yesterday after a technical recovery in the morning. Investors will continue to watch the earnings of all listed companies and Thai GDP figures for Q1/22 in the coming week. Indra Insurance 29.73%, Rich Sports +16.04%, and Castle Peak Holdings+10.42% made big jumps ahead. Yesterday’s Friday losers were led by Jasmine Telecom Systems-16.60%, 2S Metal- 12.39%, and Sucselmore-11.90%.
The SET closed at 1584.38 points, down 0.14 points or -0.01%.