Asian stocks markets were mostly higher on Wednesday. The Japanese market was buoyed by the positive machinery orders data, and the U.S. dollar dropped sharply against the yen after the data. World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on a conference in Singapore today that the US dollar's role as a reserve currency is intact, but the Chinese yuan could provide an alternative in the next 10-15 years.
Japanese PC memory maker Elpida Memory Inc (TYO:6665) said its production subsidiary, Taiwan firm Rexchip Electronics Corp, turned profitable in July-September on rising prices of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM). Rexchip is expected to report a net profit of almost 1 billion yen for the quarter, the first time to make operating net profits in five quarters.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd (TSMC) (TPE:2330) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) (NYSE:UMC), world's top two contract chip makers, will be helped by Taiwanese government's plan to allow acquiring rivals in mainland China. Today the Taiwan technology stocks were boosted by the news.
Hyosung Group (SEO:004800) has made an offer to buy a 28 percent stake in Hynix Semiconductors (SEO:000660), the world's No. 2 memory chip maker after Samsung Electronics (SEO:005930).
Renesas Technology Corp. and NEC Electronics Corp. (TYO:6723) could receive a total of 200 billion yen in financial assistance from their parent companies to proceed the proposed merger, said Japanese media.
Japan's Elpida Memory Inc (TYO:6665) said that it plans to more than double its output of advanced DRAM chips for high-speed computers and servers next month, pushing its shares higher on Monday.
Asian markets Friday opened mixed. Japan's Nikkei traded lower in the morning, but the Japanese financial stocks surged after the rise on Wall Street overnight. Hong Kong opened flat as investors were cautious ahead of the earnings reports.
