Regional Market Update

Regional Market Update

Markets higher on Wall St rally

· Asian markets were mostly higher on strong overnight gains in Wall St. Rosy fiscal year forecast from shipping giant FedEx--viewed as a bellwether of the economy--and data showing U.S. new home sales for June beat expectations lifted the Dow by 0.97% to 10,525.43, its highest close since May 17. New U.S. home purchases increased from May to an annual pace of 330,000 ahead of median forecast of economists for an advance to 310,000.

Australia and New Zealand

· The Australian market was spurred by Wall Street's rise and tapped a fresh four-week high of 4,520.3. Banking stocks rose 0.7% to 1.9%, led by Westpac's 1.9% rise. In the materials space, BHP Billiton added 0.4%, while Rio Tinto advanced 0.7%. Wesfarmers rose 1.2% after brokers upgraded the stock after Monday's strong fourth-quarter sales report.

Japan

· The Tokyo market eked out modest gains on Wall Street's rise, but demand was capped by the yen's strength against the U.S. dollar on Monday. Inpex Corp added 0.4% after it finalized on Monday the terms of a new share issue set to raise close to $6 billion to fund a major natural gas project in Australia. It set the fixed offering price at Y417,100 per share, a 3% discount to its closing price of Y430,000 Monday.

· Exporters were mixed, with Sony off 0.2%, Canon off 0.9%, while Sharp rose 0.9%. Among automakers, Toyota Motor fell 1.6%, while Nissan Motor rose 0.8% on hopes of strong first-quarter earnings, due Thursday.

Taiwan

· Taiwan’s benchmark Taiex index edged down as losses on financials, telecom and resources stocks outweighed gains in tech and industrials.

China

· China’s stocks dropped for the first time in seven days on concern about rising credit risks at banks and speculation recent gains for commodity producers were excessive given the prospects for slowing economic growth.

· ICBC and CCB retreated on concern banks may have to slow lending to local governments. China Shenhua Energy Co. and China Coal Energy Co., the nation’s top two coal producers, slid after coal prices lost the most in four months. Jiangxi Copper Co. dropped the most in a week, pacing declines for stocks that are dependent on economic growth.

Hong Kong

· Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opened higher powered by gains in financials, energy and commodity stocks. Exporters were also higher following a healthy rally in U.S. markets.

Singapore

· Singapore’s Strait Times index was the best performing market in the region up over 0.5% on gains in shippers, developers and financials. Shippers were up on gains in Baltic dry index. Parkway Holdings Asia’s biggest hospital operator rose 1% to S$3.92. Khazanah., Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, said it offered S$3.5 billion or S$3.95 a share, for the 76.1 percent it doesn’t already own in Parkway, Asia’s biggest hospital operator. That is higher than a bid from India’s Fortis Healthcare Ltd.

· Singapore Airlines, the world’s second- largest carrier by market value, gained 1.6% to S$15. The company said first-quarter net income was S$252.5 million, compared with a loss of S$307.1 million a year earlier. That beat the S$162.4 million average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Currency Updates

Date	27-Jul-10
	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	INR
USD	1.0000	1.3016	1.5500	0.0115	0.0213
EUR	0.7683	1.0000	1.1910	0.8836	0.0164
GBP	0.6452	0.8396	1.0000	0.7420	0.0138
JPY	86.9600	113.1700	134.7800	1.0000	1.8540
INR	47.0475	60.8630	72.7082	0.5395	1.0000

Regional Market Update Markets mixed after IBM, TI results

Regional Market Update

Markets mixed after IBM, TI results

·         Asian markets were mixed as disappointing as U.S. earnings restrained buyers. Technology stocks falling sharply as sentiment was weighed by second-quarter earnings from IBM and Texas Instruments, which reported after the U.S. market closed on Monday. IBM dropped 4.3% in after-hours trading as revenue growth wasn't as strong as expected while Texas Instruments shed 5.3% as its results were merely in line with the company's raised guidance. The yen's recent strength against the U.S. dollar and the euro further undermined sentiment.

·         In foreign exchange markets, the euro managed to withstand some negative news out of the euro-zone, including Moody's Investors Service on Monday cutting Ireland's rating to Aa2 from Aa1. Investors are now focusing on the results of European banks' stress tests.

Index Movements	Level	% Chg	% Chg 5D	% Chg 1M	% Chg 3M	% Chg 6M	% YTD	P/E (Fwd)	P/B (Fwd)
Nikkei 225	9,295	(1.2)	(2.6)	(7.0)	(14.8)	(13.7)	(11.9)	17.3	1.2
S&P/ASX 200	4,375	0.4	(0.1)	(3.9)	(11.2)	(10.1)	(10.2)	14.1	1.7
Taiwan Taiex	7,658	0.1	0.8	2.2	(3.1)	(6.8)	(6.5)	13.0	1.7
Kospi	1,726	(0.3)	(0.5)	0.8	0.5	0.7	2.6	9.7	1.3
Hang Seng	20,109	0.1	(1.6)	(0.9)	(7.0)	(5.5)	(8.1)	13.3	1.7
Shanghai SE Composite	2,494	0.7	1.8	(0.8)	(16.3)	(20.9)	(23.9)	14.7	2.1
Hang Seng China Enterprises	11,348	0.3	(2.4)	(2.4)	(8.8)	(7.6)	(11.3)	12.0	1.9
Straits Times	2,949	0.1	0.7	4.1	(1.1)	1.9	1.8	14.3	1.6
Jakarta Composite	2,976	(0.6)	0.6	1.6	2.9	11.6	17.4	15.1	3.0
Nifty	5,386	(0.1)	0.1	2.4	3.0	3.2	3.6	17.3	2.8
Nifty level with one day's lag

Australia and New Zealand

·         The Australian market was modestly higher. Material and financial stocks were underpinning the market, with BHP Billiton up 0.4%, Rio Tinto up 0.9%, while ANZ bank was up 0.5% and Westpac Banking rose 0.8%.

Japan

·         Technology plays were leading a broad-based decline in Tokyo shares, weighed by results from IBM and Texas Instruments. The yen's recent strength against the U.S. dollar and the euro further undermined sentiment. Tokyo Electron lost 2.2%, Advantest fell 2.3% and Sony fell 1.9%. Auto makers were also weak, with Toyota Motor down 1.8%, Nissan Motor off 1.6% and Honda Motor off 2.0%.

Taiwan

·         Taiwan’s Taiex Index was flat as gains in tech stocks were offset by losses in consumer, financials and resources companies.

South Korea

·         The South Korean market was down in sluggish trade as investors awaited this week's release of second-quarter earnings from several major companies. Samsung Electronics was down 0.4% and LG Display lost 0.5%, while auto makers were modestly higher with Kia Motors up 0.6% and Hyundai Motors up 0.3%.

China

·         China’s stocks rose for a second day as automakers rallied on improved earnings and the prospect the government may relax its tightening policies as the economy slows.

Hong Kong

·         Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was flat in choppy trade as gains in Chinese automakers, coal and telecom companies offset losses in energy and financials.

Singapore

·         Singapore Strait Times index inched up on gains in commodity trading stocks, financials and some property developers. Neptune Orient Lines climbed 1.5% to S$1.99. Southeast Asia’s biggest container carrier said average revenue increased 32% YoY in the four weeks to June 25, compared to a year earlier, as it transported 29% more cargo during the period.

·         Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings gained 2.1% to S$1.47. The China-based shipbuilder said it won 10 contracts valued at US$234.2 million between April and June. Separately, the company said its application to list Taiwan Depositary Receipts has been approved by the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Currency Updates

Date	20-Jul-10
	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	INR
USD	1.0000	1.2966	1.5253	0.0115	0.0212
EUR	0.7713	1.0000	1.1765	0.8856	0.0164
GBP	0.6556	0.8500	1.0000	0.7527	0.0139
JPY	87.1000	112.9300	132.8500	1.0000	1.8490
INR	47.1250	60.8365	71.8719	0.5410	1.0000