Asian stocks rose, as earnings from companies including Fanuc Corp. boosted sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo hiked 173.45 points, or 1.1%, to 15,457.87.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong kept its win streak alive, gaining 74.51 points, or 0.3%, to close out the week at 24,216.01
Fanuc jumped 5.3% after the Japanese maker of industrial robots reported quarterly profit that beat analyst estimates. Itochu Corp. rose 2.5% after Japan’s third-largest trading company announced a share buyback.
Treasury Wine Estates Ltd., owner of the Penfolds label, slipped 1.8% in Sydney after Credit Suisse Group AG said a proposed transaction with KKR & Co. is unlikely.
Kia Motors Corp. gained 1.6% in Seoul after South Korea’s second-largest carmaker reported second-quarter profit that beat analyst estimates.
Itochu added 2.5% after saying it will spend as much as 110 billion yen to buy back shares. Japan’s third-largest trading company also agreed a business tie-up with Thai agriculture group Charoen Pokphand to expand food supply in the world’s most populous region.
Among shares that fell, Adventest Corp., a maker of chip-testing equipment, plunged 6.7% after posting profit that missed estimates.
Economically speaking, Japan’s consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.3% from a year earlier after a 3.4% gain in May, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. The increase matched the projection in a survey of 32 economists.
The International Monetary Fund lowered its outlook for global growth this year as expansions weaken from China to the U.S. and military conflicts raise the risk of a surge in oil prices. The world economy will advance 3.4% in 2014, the IMF said, less than its 3.6% prediction in April and stronger than last year’s 3.2%. Growth next year will be 4%, compared with an April forecast for 3.9%, the fund said.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 index added 23.44 points, or 1.1%, to 2,260.45
China’s economy is seen expanding 7.4% this year, less than the 7.5% forecast in April, the IMF said. Next year, growth in the world’s second-largest economy with slow to 7.1%, the Washington-based fund said, less than its forecast in April for 7.3%
In other markets;
In Korea, the Kospi index picked up 7.23 points, or 0.4%, to 2,033.85
Singapore’s Straits Times Index deducted 3.72 points, or 0.1%, to 3,350.17
The Taiex Index in Taiwan slumped 88.25 points, or 0.9%, to 9,439.29
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 19.56 points, or 0.4%, to 5,194.27
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 4.30 points, or 0.1%, to 5,583.50
