Asian economies, along with related exchange traded funds (ETFs), are amongst the fastest growing in the world, especially after the global economic hiccup. Let’s take a look at how the Asian markets are doing now.
Asia’s central banks may not be able to tighten monetary policy as high employment begins to pressure politics, remarks Michael Dwyer for Bloomberg. High unemployment along with weak inflation should help keep interest rates on hold for a while.
Accelerating economic growth and an upswing in global trade in the second half of 2009 could provide the necessary foothold for Asian economies. Duncan Wooldridge, chief Asia economist at UBS in Hong Kong, estimates that Asia ex-Japan will grow 4.1% this year and 6.6% next year.
Global projections for Asian markets are fairly optimistic, especially among commodity markets expected to support the region, according to RTTNews.
Asian markets were recently uplifted on hope for the global economy, surge in business confidence in Australia and overall upbeat forecasts for Asian countries, as stated in The Times of India. News on Asian markets include:
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index. The Hang Seng Index recently finished above 21,000, a first since Aug. 11. The banking sector performed quite well and miners surged on high gold prices.
- Shanghai Composite Index. The Chinese auto industry was up and tourism companies rose in anticipation of increased sales during the National Day holiday.
- Singapore Straits Times Index. Commodities were up, pushed by demand for gold, as was agriculture trading firms.
- Bangkok Stock Exchange of Thailand. Coal producers were up along with energy exploration and production companies.
- Mumbai 30-share Sensex Index. The 30-share Sensex Index recently rose to 16,123.67, a high not seen since June of last year.
- iShares S&P Asia 50 Index (NYSEArca: AIA): up 49.9% year-to-date
- BLDRs Asia 50 ADR Index (NasdaqGM: ADRA): up 28.3% year-to-date
For more information on Asia, visit our Asia category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.