Tokyo stocks finished at a 15-year high Wednesday after data showed Japan’s economy grew at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter, while one of Hong Kong’s hottest stocks this year, Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Ltd., plunged nearly 50%.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 170.18 points, or 0.9%, to 20,196.56, its highest closing mark since April 2000. The benchmark extended further past the 20,000 mark, which it closed above Tuesday for the first time since late April.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index sagged 108.49 points, or 0.4%, to 27,585.05
Japan’s gains came after data showed Japan’s gross domestic product expanded an annualized 2.4% during the first quarter, higher than a 1.5% gain forecast by economists. That followed on the heels of upbeat U.S. housing data overnight.
In Tokyo, shares of Takata Corp. were down 10.2% after the company recalled faulty air bags in nearly 34 million vehicles in the U.S.
The recall is expected to be the largest for cars in U.S. history, eclipsing the 21 million vehicles recalled by Ford Motor Co. for a parking gear issue in the 1980s.
The Japanese economy grew an annualized 2.4% in the January-March quarter- the fastest in a year and above the 1.5% rise forecast by analysts - and outpacing growth in the United States and the euro-zone during the same period.
Still, growth was driven mostly by rise in inventory while capital spending fell short of market expectations, raising worries about the strength of the recovery.
Investors snatched up real estate company shares after data showed banks' lending to the sector grew faster in the first three months of this year.
Trading in shares of China's Hanergy Thin Film Power Group was suspended after its stock plunged nearly 50% in less than one hour - a sudden and brutal decline after a long run-up in market value. The reversal left many analysts puzzled.
Among the most actively traded stocks on Hong Kong's main board were Nan Hai Corp, up 34.7%, and Harmonic Strait Financial Holdings Ltd, up 68.4% and CCT Land, down 3.2%
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 jumped 123.70 points, or 0.5%, to 4,754.92
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 18.69 points, or 0.9%, to 2,139.54
In Taiwan, the Taiex gave back 31.46 points, or 0.3%, to 9,685.31
In Singapore, the Straits Times index slid 14.36 points, or 0.4%, to 3,439.68
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dropped 1.38 points to 5,755.79
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 skidded 5.20 points, or 0.1%, to 5,610.30
