Market Spotlight

Success in containing the coronavirus pandemic has helped Taiwan's economy -- and its stock market -- stay healthy.
Market Spotlight

Taiwanese flock to stocks as economy shrugs off pandemic

COVID containment and strong tech exports push trading volume to record high

10 May 2021
Zomato, the Indian online food delivery unicorn, has filed a draft IPO prospectus with India's securities regulator. Other tech companies could follow. (Photo by Rie Ishii)
Market Spotlight

India emerges as China's tech challenger with record unicorn run

Startup valuations soar as pandemic boosts online services

3 May 2021
In Japan and India, investors are becoming more concerned about the prospects for a strong post-pandemic recovery. (Source photos by Kyodo and Getty Images) 
Market Spotlight

Japan and India stock markets feel pain from COVID surge

Asian equities underperform as rising caseloads slow region's economic rebound

26 April 2021
An investor looks at stock price figures in Shanghai on February 18. China's CSI 300 index has fallen 15% since then.
Market Spotlight

Bulls and bears tussle as China's stock markets stumble

Long-term potential clouded by tighter liquidity and curbs on tech sector

19 April 2021
Vietnam had two listed companies in 2000, the year the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange was founded. Fifteen years later it had 686. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Market Spotlight

Low rates and a pandemic usher new traders into Vietnamese stocks

Stocks emerge as new asset class for those who once favored cash and real estate

12 April 2021
The SGX Center: The Singapore and Hong Kong stock exchanges are still working out how to regulate SPACs, which have drawn a flood of investor cash in the U.S.
Market Spotlight

Singapore joins Asia's SPAC race but investors flock to US

Hong Kong also weighing options for listing 'blank check' companies

5 April 2021
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants to attract more tech startups but faces growing competition from the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Science and Technology Innovation Board. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura) 
Market Spotlight

Tokyo Stock Exchange revives ambitions to lure Asian IPOs

Bourse looks to boost credentials as regional hub with listing of Taiwan's Appier

29 March 2021
Philippine tycoon Edgar "Injap" Sia will on Tuesday attempt his third straight blockbuster IPO with the real estate investment trust DDMP REIT. (Source photos by Cliff Venzon and screenshot from DoubleDragon's website) 
Market Spotlight

Can a barbecue baron kick off a big year for Philippine IPOs?

Hopes for Edgar Sia's REIT are high even as COVID and inflation cloud outlook

22 March 2021
A business area in Jakarta this year. Indonesia's capital outflows have been relatively low compared with previous market sell-offs.
Market Spotlight

Asia recovery story shelters bond investors from sell-off

Economies that were fragile now have stronger reserves and more local liquidity

15 March 2021
Growth in Singapore digital securities exchanges is also spurring initiatives in other Asian countries such as Thailand and Japan, confirming its regional hub status.
Market Spotlight

Singapore emerges as Asia's digital securities trading hub

Blockchain-backed exchanges bet on the region's growing private assets

8 March 2021
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index has had its best start to a year since 1989, powered by record buying from Chinese investors. (Photo by Dean Napolitano)
Market Spotlight

Hong Kong tax rise for stock trades overshadows index revamp

Hang Seng will be made more relevant for tech companies

1 March 2021
The world's oil exporters, including shale oil producers in the U.S., have been unusually like-minded about curtailing output.
Market Spotlight

Oil market bounces back from COVID depths on vaccine optimism

Further increases depend on OPEC+ countries' ability to maintain output cuts

22 February 2021
The price of bitcoin soared to an all-time high of $48,000 after Tesla's revelation it was converting a chunk of its cash reserves to the cryptocurrency.
Market Spotlight

Will Tesla's backing help to spin bitcoin into gold?

Cryptocurrency prices behaving more like hot stocks than safe havens

15 February 2021
Dealers work in front of monitors at Hana Bank in Seoul on Feb. 2. South Korean stocks have been on a tear, getting a major boost from younger retail investors. They are now bracing for the end of the country's unprecedentedly long ban on short selling, the lifting of which they have vehemently opposed.
Market Spotlight

Return of short-selling to test South Korea's small investors

End of ban could usher in more cautious approach to share trading

8 February 2021
The Sydney Opera House and harbor waterfront. Analysts expect that Australia's stock market is poised for a rebound as the global economy recovers and mining exports to China boom.
Market Spotlight

Australia investors eye boost for stocks as economic calm returns

Recovery expected after tepid 2020, but China tension and exchange rate pose risks

1 February 2021
Mainland Chinese investors have been the biggest supporters of Hong Kong stocks during the past year amid questions over the city's future as a global financial center.
Market Spotlight

Hong Kong stocks roar into 2021 on surge of investment from China

Mainland buyers help boost cheaper shares of locally listed H-share companies

25 January 2021
Institutional and foreign investors are buying semiconductor-related stocks, believing demand will remain strong for some time to come, according to one analyst. (Source photo by Kosuke Imamura) 
Market Spotlight

Investors rush into semiconductor stocks amid global chip crunch

South Korea and Taiwan indexes soar while Japan's Nikkei hits 30-year high

18 January 2021
The Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta in September. In 2020 the amount raised in IPOs on the exchange was lower than in most other regional economies.
Market Spotlight

Indonesia expects 2021 IPO boost from reforms and COVID rebound

Startups and state-backed companies set to improve listing outlook

11 January 2021
Going up: A swift and effective coronavirus response helped China's stocks turn in a strong performance in 2020.
Market Spotlight

Emerging Asia's stock markets set to be post-COVID winners

Analysts predict strong earnings but vaccine hiccups could still spook investors

4 January 2021
The market capitalization of Sea, a Singapore-based company that operates the e-commerce site Shopee, mainly in Southeast Asia, surged more than fivefold in 2020, driven by growing demand for online shopping under the COVID-19 pandemic. (Source photo courtesy of the company)
Market Spotlight

Sea and BYD biggest winners among major Asia stocks in 2020

TSMC joins global top 20 in market cap, as analysts say market rally still has legs

28 December 2020
After a recent strong rally, Indian stocks are trading at roughly 30 times the estimated earnings per share for the year ending March. (Source photo by Reuters)
Market Spotlight

India stocks at record highs lead Asia recovery, despite COVID

Foreign investor net buying rises as earnings and bank assets improve

21 December 2020
Gold-backed ETFs needed only the first 10 months of this year to set a record for the amount of gold added to their portfolios in one year, taking in more than 1,000 tons.
Market Spotlight

Gold loses shine as investors get a shot of vaccine optimism

Price slides but weak dollar and renewed Asian buying support bull case for 2021

14 December 2020
Pakistan's market bounced back faster than almost any other in Asia from the global sell-off early this year during a five-month bull run. 
Market Spotlight

Retail investors help drive Pakistan market rebound

Rate cuts, IPOs and tax enforcement persuade many to put money into stocks

7 December 2020
The price of copper, which will be even more necessary for electric vehicles and renewable energy generators such as solar panels, is increasing this year amid surging demand.
Market Spotlight

Green trend stirs copper and nickel markets as supply tightens

Demand high but Biden factor and China dominance fuel uncertainty

30 November 2020
The Nikkei 225 index climbed above 26,000 points on Nov. 17, a level not seen since 1991 after the collapse of Japan's asset price bubble. (Photo by Kei Higuchi)
Market Spotlight

Japan's Nikkei index regains 1991 level as investors hunt bargains

Vaccine-sparked hopes for economic rebound point buyers to value stocks

23 November 2020