ASIA
Asian stocks rose a second week with the regional benchmark index posting its longest daily winning streak this year as positive U.S. data pointed to a recovery from harsh winter weather and China promised support to counteract a slowdown threatening the nation’s growth goal.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.9% this week to 139.27, bringing its two-week gain to 4.9% and capping an eight-day advance yesterday, its best winning streak this year.
Japan’s Topix index and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average both added 2.5% this week as the yen headed for its lowest since January. Stocks rose even after the Tankan index of sentiment among large manufacturers missed estimates and the national sales tax was raised to 8% from 5%, the first increased since 1997.
South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.4% this week. Singapore’s Straits Times Index 1.3% as Noble Group Ltd. (NOBL), Asia’s biggest commodity trader by sales, jumped 5.8% after Chinese grain trader Cofco Corp. agreed to pay $1.5 billion upfront for just over half of Noble’s agricultural trading unit.
Taiwan’s Taiex index added 1.3%. Hermes Microvision, which makes inspection systems for semiconductors, jumped 17% to NT$1,395 after Barclays raised its price target to NT$2,000 from NT$1,240. The stock was the third-best performer this week on the Asian regional gauge.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1% as the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 2.5%. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index fell 0.4%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index increased 2% as stimulus measures in China were outlined. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) of mainland stocks traded in the city added 1.1%.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8% as investors assessed mixed economic data in China. The Official Purchasing Managers’ Index of manufacturing rose to 50.3 in March from 50.2 the month before, while the final PMI reading by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics Ltd. was 48, the lowest since July. A separate report showed the a purchasing managers’ index for the services industry fell in March from February.
Honda Motor Co. (7267), a carmaker that gets half its sales from North America, rose 3.4%. Renesas Electronics Corp. (6273) jumped 11% on a report Apple Inc. is seeking to buy a stake in a unit that designs chips for liquid-crystal displays used in smartphones.
Samsung Electronics Co., which gets 29% of its sales from the Americas, added 3.4% for the week as data pointed to accelerating U.S. growth and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the economy will need stimulus for “some time.” China Railway Group Ltd. (390), the country’s No. 2 builder of train lines, jumped 12%in Hong Kong after the government said it will boost spending on railways as part of stimulus plans. Hermes Microvision (3658) Inc. surged 17% in Taipei after Barclays Plc raised its target price.
EUROPE
European stocks rose to a six-year high as Holcim Ltd. (HOLN) and Lafarge SA rallied and a U.S. report showed that the world’s biggest economy created more jobs in February than initially estimated.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.6% to 339.18 at the close, its highest level since January 2008. The benchmark has advanced 4.6% since March 24 as improving U.S. economic data signaled that the world’s largest economy is recovering from the harsh winter. European equities have climbed 1.6% this week.
In Europe, a report from the Federal Statistics Office showed seasonally adjusted German factory orders increased 0.6% in February from January. Economists had forecast a gain of 0.2%, according to the median estimate.
European equities climbed Thursday as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that policy makers could turn to asset purchases to combat persistent low inflation in the 18-nation euro zone.
National benchmark indexes rose in 15 of the 18 western-European markets.
Holcim jumped 6.9% after saying it has held advanced merger discussions with Lafarge, which surged 8.9%. Remy Cointreau SA increased 3.6% following a report that Brown-Forman Corp. has considered a purchase of the cognac maker. EasyJet Plc (EZJ) rose 2% after the low-cost airline said more passengers took its flights last month.
Renault SA added 3%. Les Echos said the French carmaker’s labor costs have dropped more than 4 percent since it reached an agreement on increased working time with staff last year. The newspaper cited the company’s head of human resources.
USA
Investors rushed for the exits Friday afternoon.
U.S. equities earlier climbed to all-time highs after the release of the jobs data. Payrolls rose 192,000, short of the median forecast for a 200,000 gain. The unemployment rate held at 6.7% even as more Americans entered the labor force. Employment in January and February was revised higher, showing the effect on the labor market from inclement winter weather was less severe than previously thought.
Shortly after trading began this morning, the Dow (16,629) and S&P 500 (1,897) both touched intraday all-time highs in response to the the March jobs report. But it didn't last.
The Nasdaq plunged 2.6%, and the Dow and S&P 500 fell around 1%.
After a bullish start to the week, gains evaporated on Friday. The Nasdaq is down more than 0.6% for the week, although the Dow and S&P 500 squeezed out weekly gains.
Momentum stocks got manhandled today. Netflix (NFLX), Facebook (FB, Fortune 500), Priceline (PCLN, Fortune 500), Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), LinkedIn (LNKD), Tesla (TSLA) were all pummeled as investors began to question future prospects.
The other sector that couldn't seem to stop the slide was biotechnology. Biogen Idec (BIIB, Fortune 500), Regeneron (REGN), Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) all took a deep dive.
Sharing in the biotech butchery were Amgen (AMGN, Fortune 500) and Halozyme Therapeutics. (HALO) A late-stage test of Amgen's skin cancer drug disappointed researchers, and Halozyme plunged after it suspended a study of its pancreatic cancer drug due to patient safety concerns.
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