Asia: Japan Rallies on Yen Trade

Korean telco SK Telecom(SKM Quote - Cramer on SKM - Stock Picks) said that it has agreed to join a consortium, including giant China Mobile, which will invest in $1 billion in the construction of a technical research center in Beijing. SK Telecom lost 0.7%, to 20,300 won.

Among commodities, oil fell to $130.41 in Singapore trading vs. $131.03 the day before. Gold was stronger however, up $2.84, or 0.3%, at $903.68 on inflationary concerns.

In a research note titled "Out of Oil Stocks," published Thursday, Sean Darby, head of Asian strategy for Nomura Bank in Hong Kong, wrote that investors should stay away from companies such as PetroChina(PTR Quote - Cramer on PTR - Stock Picks) and CNOOC(CEO Quote - Cramer on CEO - Stock Picks).

"With the oil futures market moving from backwardation to contango, rising G7 bond yields and changes to fuel subsidies in emerging markets, we would expect spot oil prices to correct," wrote Darby. "Aggressive portfolios should consider shorting oil stocks."

PetroChina gained 0.8%, to HK$10.74, but CNOOC, a purely upstream developer, plunged 3.2%, to HK$13.74.

In Japan, the Tokyo stock exchange announced that it is revising the ticker sizes of companies trading on the local exchange down by 90%. For example, Canon(CAJ Quote - Cramer on CAJ - Stock Picks), which trades at 5540 yen, will now trade in blocks of 100 yen vs. blocks of 1000 yen previously. Any stock which trades at a share price of over 1 million yen will not trade in blocks of 1000 yen vs. 10,000 previously.

"So volumes will increase, but algorithmic engines will have to work harder," says Gavin Parry, a director of Helmsman Global Trading in Hong Kong. "Given the amount of share splits we are seeing as well, the hope is that we don't get the bottle neck situations from a few years ago."

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