Japanese shares soared Wednesday on the back of a weaker yen and strengthening expectations for earnings growth, sending the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average above the 15,000-point level for the first time in more than five years.
The Nikkei 225 leaped 337.61 points, or 2.3%, to 15,096.03, a closing level it hasn’t seen since December 2007.
At the end of Wednesday’s trading, the Nikkei had climbed more than 45% so far in 2013, easily beating other regional benchmarks.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index recovered 113.96 points, or 0.5%, to 23,044.24
Sony Corp. soared 10.4% after billionaire hedge-fund manager Daniel Loeb called for a spinoff of the company’s entertainment business.
Also delivering a superlative performance, Isuzu Motors Ltd. jumped more than 20% after posting upbeat results for the year ended March 31.
Financials gained on hopes for strong earnings. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. rose 0.9% after a Nikkei newspaper report said its profit for the year ended March 31 likely topped the lender’s estimates, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. gained 3.1% after a separate Nikkei report the bank is expected to raise its dividend for the first time in five years.
In a statement, Mitsubishi UFJ said it hasn’t made any decision on dividends.
On the downside, Sharp Corp. plunged 12.8% on news the company will replace its top executives after its biggest-ever loss.
In Sydney, shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia climbed 0.8% after posting a 12% increase in third-quarter profit.
But the broad market declined as recent dollar strength kept commodity prices and shares in the resource sector under pressure.
Shares of Newcrest Mining Ltd. dropped 2.9% and BHP Billiton Ltd. lost 1.9%.
Rio Tinto Ltd. shares gave up 3.1% following a ratings downgrade by Barclays to equal weight from overweight.
CHINA
Some Shanghai-listed property, insurance and banking stocks retreated amid persistent fears about the health of the economy, and concerns that Beijing may not ease its policies to spur growth.
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 Index moved higher 13.59 points, or 0.6%, to 2,506.93
Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its view on Chinese gross domestic product growth for 2013 to 7.6% from 8%. The brokerage wrote in a report that after “recalibrating base effects and taking into account sluggish external demand, we have changed our minds.”
Shares of Poly Real Estate Group Co. shed 0.2%, Ping An Insurance Group Co. gave up 0.9% and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. declined 0.5%.
In other markets;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 8.77 points, or 0.3%, to 3,441.53
Taiwan’s Taiex Index climbed 66.77 points, or 0.8%, to 8,318.59
Korea’s Kospi Index advanced 2.43 points, or 0.1%, to 1,971.26
The New Zealand Exchange 50 Gross Index inched forward 0.47 points to 4,646.32
Australia’s S&P/ASX subtracted 29.33 points, or 0.6%, to 5,191.66
