Asian markets weather rough overnight cues

Stocks gain around 1-2% ahead of long weekend as commodity prices surge

Asian markets bounced back even as the US Dollar continued to turn lower and steady buying ahead of the long weekend. Resources and mining stocks traded firm on the back of strong commodity prices as crude oil crossed $84 per barrel mark. Optimism about global economic recovery more than offset the weak closing on Wall Street in the previous session where the major averages ended in negative territory on disappointing private employment data.

The Australian market ended on firm note, led by mining stocks on firm commodity prices in the international market. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index advanced 32.20 points, or 0.66% to close at 4,908, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,926, representing a loss of 32.80 points, or 0.67%.

On the economic front, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the country posted by a seasonally adjusted trade deficit of A$1.924 billion in February. The deficit was wider by A$804 million from the revised deficit reported for the previous month. As per the data, export of goods and services decreased a seasonally adjusted 1% to A$19.922 billion, while imports increased 2% or A$516 million, to A$21.8 billion.

The stock market in Japan also closed the first trading session of new fiscal year in positive territory, lifted by optimism about economic recovery. Positive results from Tankan Survey, weaker local currency and positive trading across other markets in the region lifted market sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 154.46 points, or 1.4%, to 11,244, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues rose 6.45 points, or 0.7%, to 985.

The latest Tankan Corporate Survey released by the Bank of Japan revealed that business confidence among large Japanese manufacturers improved for the fourth straight quarter, led by a strong revival in exports to Asia. The headline figure for large manufacturers' confidence was -14 in the March quarter - exactly in line with analyst forecasts and up from -25 in the December quarter. At the same time, the indicator for medium-sized manufacturers improved to -19 from -28, while that for small manufacturers rose to -30 from -41.

Stocks in Hong Kong closed on an upbeat note on Thursday, reaching their highest closing levels in more than two months as investors snapped up consumer stocks. The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended up 1.4% or 297.65 points at 21,537.00, its highest close since Jan. 19.The Shanghai Composite Index also ended the day up 1.23% at 3,147.416 points, its highest close since Jan. 21, as investors were encouraged by strong business survey and a central bank statement that it would maintain its loose monetary policy. Chinese inflation hit a 16-month high of 2.7% in February, raising calls for the central bank to tighten the economy to prevent overheating. But while interest rates have remained unchanged for more than two years, the People's Bank of China ordered banks to hike their capital reserves in January in a bid to limit lending.

In New Zealand, the benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 8.238 points, or 0.25% at 3276.231, which is its highest level in nearly 11 weeks. The New Zealand dollar dropped on Thursday after the International Monetary Fund said it was overvalued by between 10% and 25%. "While there is uncertainty, our estimates suggest the currency is presently overvalued by 10-25%," the IMF said.

In Mumbai, the stocks rose sharply as the mood remained buoyant due to surge in IT stocks and other index heavy counters. The BSESENSEX ended the day at 17692.62 points, a jump of 164.85 points or nearly 2%.

In US, stocks saw moderate weakness to end the first quarter yesterday, as continued job losses in the private sector deflated the mood on Wall Street. The major averages all closed in negative territory, but remained near their recent eighteen-month closing highs.

Before the start of trading, payroll processor Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) reported that non-farm private employment fell by 23,000 jobs in March following a revised decrease of 24,000 jobs in February. The loss of jobs surprised economists, who had expected an increase of about 40,000 jobs compared to loss of 20,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The major averages regained some ground going into the close but remained stuck in the red. The Dow fell by 50.79 points or 0.5 % to 10,856.63, the Nasdaq declined by 12.73 points or 0.5 % to 2,397.96 and the S&P 500 slipped by 3.84 points or 0.3 % to 1,169.43.

US dollar fell above 1.3500 against the Euro but further gains were limited for the greenback. Oil hit an 18-month high, adding to recent gains. U.S. crude for May delivery rose 66 cents to $84.42 a barrel, after hitting an intraday high of $84.62 and settling at $83.76 a barrel Wednesday, the highest close since October 2008.