China Shenhua Energy Company Limited

Asian markets are set to deliver a positive start on Wednesday. US stocks rose to a fresh 17-month high overnight as the US Federal Reserve acknowledged the U.S. economy was gaining momentum and reiterated that the central bank will keep interest rates low for an extended period. Yesterday Asian shares closed mixed ahead of Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan's policy meetings. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 per cent after three-day gains; however, China's Shanghai Composite rebounded from falls in previous two sessions. Hong Kong market shed 0.3 per cent as coal mining shares were hurt by China Shenhua's disappointing earnings.

Last week Asian markets mostly experienced a significantly losing week and will continue to be weighed by the negative lead from US and European markets on Monday. Asian stocks Friday stumbled on disappointing company forecasts and Toyota's recall of millions of cars. For the month, China's Shanghai Composite lost 8.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 8%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 6.2% and South Korea's Kospi slid 4.8% to 1602.43.

Today the Asian markets include Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea opened higher following the upbeat sentiment in the US market. Nikkei was up by over 2% in early trade. China's Shanghai Composite opened lower but soon returned to the positive territory in early trade.

Asian shares ended mixed Thursday. The Shanghai Composite index was up 1.0%, but in Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.0%. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.1%, reversing early gains, and Japan's Nikkei 225 Average ended up 2.0%.

Yesterday Australia's share market closed higher after surge in the mining sector. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index yesterday ended 36.4 points or 1% higher at 3640.7, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 39.6 points, or 1.1%, at 3,573.3. The stronger commodity prices for gold and oil overnight may further buoy the stocks market which has been oversold.