AFP, Hong Kong :
Agreement on a Pacific-wide free-trade agreement and hopes major central banks will maintain extra-loose monetary policies fired another broad rally in Asia Tuesday, tracking advances in Europe and New York.
The dollar was also lower against emerging markets currencies as analysts said last week’s disappointing US jobs report all but put a nail in the coffin of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this year. In Hong Kong shares in mining giant Glencore added to the previous day’s surge following reports it is in talks to sell its agriculture business as it battles weakening demand for raw materials.
But the main focus was on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which will see the easing of a number of barriers, including to Japan’s closeted farm sector and the US car market.
After five years, trade representatives from 12 nations on the Pacific Rim said Monday they had finally hammered out a deal to create the world’s biggest free trade area — encompassing 40 percent of the world economy. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hailed the deal and expressed a hope that China would join at some point.
“It’s the opening of a new century for the Asia-Pacific region,” he said in a televised news conference Tuesday.
“If China participates in this system in the future, that will contribute to both Japan’s security and the stability of the Asia-Pacific region,” he added.
The accord also earned a strong endorsement from International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, who said it was “not only important because of the size… it also pushes the frontier of trade and investment in goods and services to new areas where gains can be significant”. Analysts said the news would boost stocks in the region, adding to an already upbeat mood among investors.
Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co. in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News the TPP “has a lot of potential to become a big deal for the US and Japan.”
He added: “Concerns over the global economy had become ingrained in the market’s mindset. It’s possible that the TPP has triggered some regret over having sold too much.”
Agreement on a Pacific-wide free-trade agreement and hopes major central banks will maintain extra-loose monetary policies fired another broad rally in Asia Tuesday, tracking advances in Europe and New York.
The dollar was also lower against emerging markets currencies as analysts said last week’s disappointing US jobs report all but put a nail in the coffin of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this year. In Hong Kong shares in mining giant Glencore added to the previous day’s surge following reports it is in talks to sell its agriculture business as it battles weakening demand for raw materials.
But the main focus was on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which will see the easing of a number of barriers, including to Japan’s closeted farm sector and the US car market.
After five years, trade representatives from 12 nations on the Pacific Rim said Monday they had finally hammered out a deal to create the world’s biggest free trade area — encompassing 40 percent of the world economy. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hailed the deal and expressed a hope that China would join at some point.
“It’s the opening of a new century for the Asia-Pacific region,” he said in a televised news conference Tuesday.
“If China participates in this system in the future, that will contribute to both Japan’s security and the stability of the Asia-Pacific region,” he added.
The accord also earned a strong endorsement from International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, who said it was “not only important because of the size… it also pushes the frontier of trade and investment in goods and services to new areas where gains can be significant”. Analysts said the news would boost stocks in the region, adding to an already upbeat mood among investors.
Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co. in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News the TPP “has a lot of potential to become a big deal for the US and Japan.”
He added: “Concerns over the global economy had become ingrained in the market’s mindset. It’s possible that the TPP has triggered some regret over having sold too much.”
