Market Report – Asia Reaches 10 Month High

Asian stocks hit a 10-month peak today, after upbeat company earnings reassured regional investors that a U.S. economic recovery is taking root.

Japan’s Nikkei jumped over 2 percent to end at a two-week high, with Canon and other exporters gaining in line with a slight weakening of the yen.

South Korea’s Samsung SDI rose after reporting a 33 percent rise in quarterly operating profit, helped by strength in rechargeable batteries and improving demand for plasma screens used in televisions.

The KOSPI has recovered its level held before the Lehman Brothers collapse last September, while the key MSCI index is up over 39 percent this year after a record plunge last year.

In China, Ford says its vehicle sales rose 14 percent to almost 200,000 units in the first half of 2009, a key market for the automaker as it struggles to recover.

On the economic front, Australia’s central bank showed greater optimism, leaving interest rates unchanged at its July policy meeting, although still seeing scope for further easing if an expected recovery did not materialize.

(NTDTV)