HONG KONG: Asian markets edged upward Wednesday in thin holiday trading, with investors shrugging off a negative Wall Street lead as fears over lacklustre iPhone demand eased, and commodities rose. But that slide was arrested in early trading Wednesday, with Taiwan-based Apple suppliers Catcher Technology, Largan Precision and Hon Hai Precision Tech — better known as Foxconn — all rising. Hong Kong rose 0.2 percent and Tokyo was up 0.1 percent, while Taipei added 0.5 percent. Shanghai was trading flat, as profit growth at China’s major industrial firms slowed in the first 11 months of this year, Xinhua reported, citing the National Bureau of Statistics. “Strength on oil and metals markets, along with strength in gold markets has futures pointing higher this morning,” wrote Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader.

Source: Manila Times December 27, 2017 03:45 UTC