HONG KONG: Japanese stocks pushed ever higher Friday as a weaker yen provided further support to exporters, while the euro struggled after the European Central Bank extended its stimulus package.
Hong Kong-listed casino operators plunged after a report said China has halved the amount of cash gamblers can withdraw from ATMs in the gaming city of Macau, in its latest bid to choke off a flight of capital from the country.
Most Asian investors were moving cautiously after a strong run-up this week, while they look ahead to next week’s key Federal Reserve policy meeting hoping for clues about its plans for interest rates next year.
The ECB said Thursday it would reduce the amount of bonds it buys each month as part of its monetary easing scheme but added that it would continue the programme to the end of 2017, well past its planned March expiry.
Bank boss Mario Draghi also signalled that the eurozone’s fragile economy could count on its continued support.
The euro retreated on the prospect of more cash being pumped into financial markets for some time to come. It was below $1.06 in early Asian trade, having dallied with $1.08 earlier in the week.
While the news helped all three main index on Wall Street tap record closes, Asian stock markets took a breather.
Tokyo ended the morning 1.1 percent higher as the dollar pushed up against the yen.
– Casinos roiled –
Sydney added 0.3 percent and Shanghai gained 0.2 percent after data showed prices at China’s factory gates rose more than expected in November, signalling a pick-up in demand in the world’s number two economy.
However, Seoul was off 0.4 percent, Singapore shed 0.1 percent and Wellington eased 0.2 percent, while Taipei was flat.
Hong Kong sank 0.5 percent, with gaming firms hammered by a report in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post on China’s move to restrict withdrawals.
The paper said officials would from Saturday cut by 50 percent the amount of China UnionPay bank card holders can withdraw from machines in Macau.
“Nearly 50 percent of Chinese customers in Macau use UnionPay ATM withdrawals as one source of cash for gaming,” Vitaly Umansky, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co, said.
Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment and Wynn Macau all plunged almost 10 percent in the first few minutes of trade before edging back up marginally.
The move would be the latest by Beijing to halt a flood of cash that has sent the yuan tumbling against the dollar as investors shift to the United States seeking better returns as the Federal Reserve plans to hike interest rates.
It also follows a series of measures aimed at limiting mainlanders shifting their cash to Macau as President Xi Jinping embarks on a drive against corruption.
