BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks rose mainly in Asia on Thursday as U.S. stocks rose on better-than-expected earnings reports from Morgan Stanley, United Airlines and other major companies.
Chinese markets rose after officials in Beijing announced the government would expand financing for housing projects in an effort to reverse a property market slump caused by a crackdown on excessive borrowing by developers.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 0.9% to 20,460.86, while the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.1% to 3,205.95.
China will announce its economic growth figures for the April-September quarter on Friday. Economists predict annual growth of about 4.5%, which is below the government’s target of about 5%.
China’s leaders have promised more measures to help stimulate the economy, but have so far provided no details on stimulus on a scale that would satisfy investors hoping for reforms that will address longer-term problems such as massive local debt and a weak consumer demand.
The plans announced so far amount to a “bailout” aimed at promoting a gradual recovery rather than a “V”-shaped short-term rebound in prices, economists at ANZ Research said in a report.
“Without announcing a major shift in housing policy, the policy measure will not lead to a huge demand for real estate investment,” the report said. But it added: “The package of credit injections is an effective measure to reduce the financial risks and liquidity crisis faced by developers and related supply chains, thus averting a subprime crisis in China.”
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.6% to 38,950.18 after the government reported Japanese exports fell 1.7% from a year earlier in September, widening the country’s trade deficit.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2% to 2,606.23 and in Australia the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to 8,337.60.
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.3% and India’s Sensex fell 0.3%. In Thailand, the SET rose 0.7% a day after the central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.25%.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5,842.47 to recover much of the decline from its all-time high the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to a record high of 43,077.70. The Nasdaq index closed 0.3% higher at 18,367.08 points.
Morgan Stanley rose 6.4% after reporting stronger earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Ted Pick said the investment bank enjoyed a “constructive environment” in its operations around the world. And with stock prices near record highs, even more money is being managed for clients.
United Airlines flew 12.4% higher after reporting a milder-than-expected drop in summer profit and announcing plans to send up to $1.5 billion to shareholders through share buybacks. JB Hunt Transport Services rose 3.1% after the freight company posted better-than-expected results.
Energy stocks were steadier, including a tick high of 0.3% for Exxon Mobil, a day after sliding to some of the market’s worst losses.
They generally follow oil prices, which have fallen as concerns ease that Israel will attack Iranian oil facilities as part of its retaliation for the Iranian missile attack early this month. Iran is a major producer of crude oil, and a strike could boost exports to China and elsewhere. Concerns about the strength of demand due to China’s weak economic growth have also weighed on oil prices.
On Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude rose 21 cents to $70.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, added 19 cents to $74.41 a barrel.
The dollar fell from 149.64 yen to 149.48 Japanese yen. The euro fell from $1.0862 to $1.0858.
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AP Business writers Matt Ott and Stan Choe contributed.
