Japanese stocks ended higher on Tuesday and extended a three-day winning streak after a three-day holiday weekend, as markets caught up with gains in other Asian markets triggered by a surprise rate cut by China late last week.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 50.11 points, or 0.3%, to 17,407.62
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index faded 49.23 points, or 0.2%, to 23,843.91, after yesterday’s leap of more than 400 points.
The yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar, trading at ¥117.94 from ¥118.28 a day earlier, after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday that the central bank would continue to take actions to achieve its 2% inflation target, while minutes from the central bank indicated a divide between policy makers over the stimulus measures passed in October.
Among market movers, Sony Corp. surged 6.1%, after the company forecast strong sales gains in its videogame business, including PlayStation4 and image sensor divisions.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index gathered 36.30 points, or 1.4%, to 2,685.56
On Tuesday, the People’s Bank of China lowered its 14-day repurchase-agreement rate by 20 basis points. The move followed a surprise interest rate cut by the central bank on Friday night.
In other markets;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index recovered 4.46 points, or 0.1%, to 3,344.99
The Taiex index in Taiwan deducted 6.09 points, or 0.1%, to 9,116.24
Korea’s Kospi index gained 1.67 points, or 0.1%, to 1,980.21
New Zealand’s Exchange 50 subtracted 29.01 points, or 0.5%, to 5,442.68
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 27.02 points, or 0.5%, to 5,334.79.
