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Friday July 18, 10:33 AMGLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks inch up as oil slides* Mixed bag of company results leave investors uncertain* U.S. dollar recovers on lower oil, but outlook cloudy * Big investors like developed markets over emerging (Repeats to more subscribers) By Kevin Plumberg HONG KONG, July 18 (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged up on Friday, helped by a 10 percent decline in oil prices this week and results from investment bank JPMorgan that were not as bad as expected, though the outlook for earnings at other companies was less rosy. The U.S. dollar has benefited from the decline in crude, gaining against major currencies and improving the prospects for Asian exporters. However, persistent worries about the stability of the financial sector continued to dog the currency, especially after Merrill Lynch & Co posted a loss that was more than twice as large as expected. Asia's biggest oil refiner Sinopec Corp said late on Thursday its first-half net profit was likely cut in half compared with a year ago, having been squeezed between soaring crude prices and China's price caps on energy products. [ID:nHKG258307] Crude has fallen sharply this week to below $130 a barrel on fears about sluggish U.S. demand and slowly unwinding political tensions between the West and Iran, the fourth largest oil exporter. Lower oil prices have eased some concerns about high inflation and thinning profit margins, but given crude's 35 percent rise this year, enthusiasm was tame. "Merrill's results were also bad. Investors are not in the mood for a buying spree," said Masanobu Takahashi, chief strategist at Ichiyoshi Securities. "Exporters are rising thanks to a softer yen, but it's mostly buybacks of battered shares," he said. Japan's Nikkei share average rose 0.3 percent, with automakers Honda Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp among the biggest lifts to the index. Apart from Japan, shares in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region fell 0.2 percent, according to an MSCI index , and were within striking distance of a 16-month low hit on Wednesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was 0.9 percent percent higher , helped by market talk about the possibility of more pro-growth policies in China after second-quarter data released on Thursday confirmed slower growth in the world's fourth-largest economy. South Korea's KOSPI inched up 0.2 percent, with Samsung Electronics providing the largest boost for the second day in a row. Australia's benchmark index slipped 0.7 percent, dragged down by resource-related shares. The index is set to post its ninth consecutive weekly loss, the longest streak in six years. VALUATION MATTERS Beside Merrill Lynch, Google and Microsoft Corp also posted lower-than-expected quarterly earnings overnight. But IBM surprised with a much higher-than-expected profit and JPMorgan's results were helped by underwriting and bond trading, leaving investors with a muddled view on how the global situation of high inflation and slow growth is affecting the bottom line. Valuation is playing a major role in where big investors are placing their money, according to State Street Global Markets, which tracks 15 percent of the world's tradeable assets. The firm measures valuation by looking at the proportion of market value not accounted for by book value. On this basis, developed market valuations are the cheapest in 20 years, while emerging market assets valuations have remained relatively high because of the absence of credit stress in developing countries. "Developed equity markets are being seen as a safe haven. Though inflation is high relative to recent history ... it has yet to steamroller out of control," State Street analysts said in a report. The euro slipped 0.15 percent against the dollar to $1.5835, two cents below an all-time high touched on Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was largely steady at 106.30 yen. (Additional reporting by Taiga Uranaka in Tokyo) (Editing by Kim Coghill) |
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