Foreign Stock Roundup: Taiwan Semiconductor Beats, Shell Buys Stake In Silicon Ranch

Global markets largely echoed Wall Street’s fortunes over last week. Stocks across Europe were buoyed by notable earnings performances and strong economic data. Meanwhile, in Asia, the Nikkei lingered near 26-year highs while encouraging growth numbers buoyed China’s stocks. A bullish economic outlook helped stocks in Brazil scale new highs during this period.

STOXX Gains on Strong Economic Data, Earnings

Volumes remained low across Europe on last Monday as markets took a breather after two weeks of notable gains. The STOXX 600 recovered partially to close 0.2% lower even as most sectors closed in the red. The FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX declined 0.12%, 0.13% and 0.3%, respectively.

Only Italy’s benchmark FTSE MIB added 0.5%. News that British construction firm Carillion had declared itself bankrupt weighed on sentiment but helped boost other stocks from the sector. Utilities also notched up considerable gains.

The STOXX 600 advanced by 0.1% last Tuesday even as most major sectors finished in the green. However, a fall in commodity prices dampened investor sentiment even though foreign markets registered strong gains. The FTSE 100 lost 0.2% but the CAC 40 and DAX gained 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively. Stocks of oil companies lost 0.9% following a significant decline in crude prices.

A strong performance on Wall Street failed to lift Europe’s stocks last Wednesday. Corporate developments dominated the proceedings as the STOXX 600 lost 0.1%. The FTSE 100, CAC 40 and the DAX each lost around 0.4%. Most sectors closed in the red with media stocks declining by 0.6%.

The STOXX 600 advanced by 0.2% on last Thursday, buoyed by a strong showing on Wall Street. Nearly all of the index’s sectors closed in the black. Tech stocks gained 1.4%, boosted by encouraging earnings numbers.

Similarly, strong economic data triggered gains for the region’s stocks on last Friday. The STOXX 600 added 0.5%, touching its highest point since Aug 2015. Basic resources stocks were the major gainers of the session, fueled by encouraging demand data from China.

Strong GDP Boosts China Stocks, Nikkei Lingers Near 26-year High

Stocks across Asia ended higher on last Monday following record gains on Wall Street. The Nikkei added 0.3% defying the rise in the yen. Meanwhile, the Kospi and the S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively. In Australia, materials and gold mining stocks emerged as the day’s best performers.

However, the Hang Seng closed in the red after a disappointing last hour of trading. The Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite declined by 0.6% and 1.8%, respectively.

Markets across Asia closed higher on last Tuesday following the dollar’s overnight losses. The Nikkei 225 gained 1%, breaching a 26-year record earlier in the session. The Kospi overcame early losses to end 0.7% higher. Meanwhile the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5%. The Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Composite advanced by 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.

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Stocks across Asia closed in the red on last Wednesday following losses on Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 moved 0.4% after touching a 26-year high in the preceding session. The Kospi lost 0.3% while the S&P/ASX 200 declined by 0.5%. The Shenzhen Composite and the CSI 300 declined by 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. Only the Shanghai Composite index defied the prevailing trend to finish 0.3% higher.

The Nikkei slipped from a new 26-year high on last Thursday and finished the session 0.4% lower. Markets across the region ended mixed as investors received key economic data on China. Official data showed that China’s economy had recorded an annual growth rate of 6.9%, exceeding the targeted rate of 6.5%. Additionally, industrial production numbers also exceeded estimates.

The Kospi inched up 0.02% while the S&P/ASX 200 ended in the red. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite, Shenzhen Composite and the CSI 300 added 0.9%, 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively.

Asia’s stocks largely finished in the green on last Friday. The Nikkei added 0.2% even as financials stocks registered strong gains. The Kospi gained 0.2% while the S&P/ASX 200 declined by 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite increased by 0.4%, adding the record gains logged on Thursday. However, the Shenzhen Composite lost out on early gains to end 0.1% lower.

Bovespa Surges on Economic Outlook, Chile’s Stocks Scale New Highs

The Bovespa gained 0.5% on last Monday following expectations that President Trump would likely moderate his stance on NAFTA renegotiations. On last Tuesday, Brazil’s stocks inched up to a fresh all-time high. The Bovespa gained 0.1%, moving above the 80,000 mark at one point during the session. Optimism over the country’s economic prospects fueled the day’s gains. Meanwhile, Mexico’s S&P/BMV IPC stock index gained more than 0.2%.

The Bovespa gained 0.6% on last Wednesday, moving above the 80,000 mark following strong foreign capital inflows. Corporate developments also helped boost stocks on this occasion. Shares of Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) gained around 2% after the government set it was creating a committee to deal with a long standing dispute over oil rights.

On last Thursday, the Bovespa gained 0.2% even as Chile’s stocks touched an intraday high. Meanwhile, Argentina’s benchmark Merval index also hit a new one-time high, gaining more than 1.1%. Brazil’s stocks continued to linger near record levels on last Friday. The Bovespa gained 0.3%, creating a new intraday record. Meanwhile, the Merval slipped from the record achieved in the previous session, losing 1.3%.

Stocks in the News

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM) reported fourth-quarter 2017 earnings of 64 cents per ADR, which exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Further, it increased 13% sequentially and 5% year over year.

Moreover, revenues increased 5.9% year over year and 10.1% sequentially. The increase was primarily driven by major mobile product launches and strong sales from cryptocurrency mining boom.

North America accounted for 67% of the total revenues. Asia Pacific, China, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and Japan accounted for 7%, 13%, 7%, and 6% of the total revenues, respectively.

For first-quarter 2018, Taiwan Semiconductor expects revenues to be in the range of $8.40-$8.50 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $8.24 billion. (Read: Original post

Written By: Zacks Investment Research