Asian stocks hold near six-year high in sixth weekly gain

13:16, 20 June 2014

LONDON. KAZINFORM Asian stocks held near a six-year high, with the regional benchmark index on course for the longest run of weekly advances since August, as materials and technology companies dropped.

Lotte Chemical Corp. (011170) sank 3.5 percent in Seoul, with the chemical processor posting the largest decline on the regional gauge. Samsung Electronics Co. paced the retreat among technology firms as South Korea's Kospi index headed for the biggest drop in two months. Samsung Life Insurance Co. lost 3.8 percent as an investor sold five million shares. HTC Corp. climbed 2.6 percent in Taipei as Chief Executive Officer Peter Chou said he is seeing improvement from the second quarter, Bloomberg reports. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.1 percent to 145.26 as of 11:55 a.m. in Hong Kong. The gauge is on course to advance 0.8 percent this week after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she expects U.S. interest rates to stay near zero for a "considerable time" after stimulatory bond buying ends. "Investors need to be asking whether the Fed and Yellen will prove to be as stubbornly dovish on monetary policy as much of the commentary now assumes," said Ric Spooner, chief strategist at CMC Markets Ltd. in Sydney. "Market thinking on this may be tested if U.S. economic growth and inflation rates continue to improve in coming months. With little on the slate in terms of economic releases, today may be a typically quiet session for markets." Regional Gauges Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.5 percent. South Korea's Kospi index fell 1.1 percent as Lotte Chemical declined 3.5 percent to 177,500 won and Samsung Electronics retreated 1.7 percent to 1.3 million won. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index slid 0.7 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.5 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.2 percent, while Singapore's Straits Times Index dropped 0.2 percent. Taiwan's Taiex Index fell 0.2 percent, with losses limited as HTC rose 2.6 percent to NT$136.50. Japan's Topix index rose 0.2 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) is on course for the longest weekly winning streak since August after closing yesterday at the highest level since June 2008. The gauge traded at 13.4 times estimated earnings yesterday compared with 16.6 for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and 15.6 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For full version go to

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