Asian stock markets saw an increase in share prices this morning, thanks to yesterday’s rise on Wall Street and better-than-expected business results from a number of American companies, particularly Apple.
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index is currently up 1.7 percent, while share prices in Shanghai and South Korea have also risen by more than 1 percent. In Hong Kong, India, Singapore, and Australia, stock indices are up between 0.1 and 0.7 percent, so around 7 AM, the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks, excluding Japan, was up 0.9 percent. Yesterday, share prices on Wall Street rose after numerous companies, from Goldman Sachs and Coca-Cola to Yahoo and Harley-Davidson, reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter. Investors were particularly buoyed by Apple, whose profit soared 90 percent compared to the first quarter of last year, while the company’s revenue increased by 49 percent, thanks to double the sales of iPhones compared to a year earlier.
Apple’s share price rose 5 percent this morning, reaching a record $257, which boosted the entire technology sector. “If people are buying iPhones, Macs, and iPads, it raises hopes that consumer spending is strengthening, which is a key lever for economic recovery,” says Andrew Sullivan, director at MainFirst Securities in Hong Kong. Share prices in the energy and mining sectors also rose significantly this morning, thanks to the recovery in commodity prices.
