Asian Shares Rise; Australian Dollar Hits Over 3-Year Low -- 2nd Update

By Daniel Inman 

Asian stocks moved higher on Thursday, while the Australian dollar fell to its lowest in more than three years against the U.S. dollar following weak jobs data.

The Australian dollar fell as low as US$0.8794, a level not seen since August 2010, from US$0.8912 late Wednesday in New York as the number of people employed unexpectedly fell by 22,600 in December, undershooting a forecast for a 10,000 increase. Late in Asia, the currency was trading at US$0.8806.

Despite the poor economic data, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 managed to rise 1.2% to 5309.10, as local miners put in a strong performance. Newcrest Mining Ltd. jumped 7% after the firm was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral by J.P. Morgan, while Rio Tinto Ltd. added 2.1% after the miner said that its iron-ore shipments rose by 5% last year to a record.

The strength in the commodities space managed to offset underperformance in the banking sector as major lenders fell after Citi cut three Australian banks to Neutral from Buy. Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 0.5% while Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. ended just 0.4% higher.

More broadly in Asia, the region took its lead from the U.S., where Wall Street overcame a poor start to the year as the S&P 500 hit a fresh all-time high, with the market helped by upbeat corporate news as well as positive global economic reports.

The dollar moved higher against the yen in early Asian trade, adding to a 0.3% gain in the previous session. The greenback was last trading at Yen104.74 to the dollar compared with Yen104.58 late Wednesday in New York.

The softer yen supported the Nikkei earlier in the session, but the index ended the day 0.4% lower at 15747.20, as the market was hit by profit-taking after a strong performance in the previous session.

The moderate move in Tokyo suggests that the market has calmed after a period of volatile trading earlier in the week. The index sank 3.1% on Tuesday, only to bounce back 2.5% in the next session, as the yen bumped up then down against the dollar as the currency responded to several sets of U.S. economic data.

Japanese exporters still benefited from the dollar climbing back toward the Yen105 mark. Honda Motor Co. rose 0.8% and Denso Corp. climbed 1.8%.

South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2% to 1957.32, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.4% at 22986.41, and the Shanghai Composite ended less than one point higher at 2023.70.

In Hong Kong, shares in logistics firm China South City Holdings Ltd. surged 61% after technology giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. said on Wednesday it has agreed to buy a 9.9% stake in the firm for $193 million. The two companies said they would work together in e-commerce as well as offline services, a move seen as an attempt by Tencent to strengthen its presence in China's fast-growing online shopping market.

Tencent shares added 0.8%.

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