Stocks in Asia closed higher on Wednesday, with markets in Japan and South Korea leading gains in the region. Investors also digested the extended gains in oil prices and the release of China's Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, which met expectations.
The Nikkei 225 index screamed higher 408.47 points, or 1.9%, to 22,420.08, with energy stocks posting gains as oil prices edged up.
Automakers also rose while tech stocks were mixed: Mitsubishi Motor closed up 1% and Inpex rose 2.4% Sony stock surged 11.4% after announcing expectation-topping results on Tuesday.
The Hang Seng Index hiked 348.52 points, or 1.2%, to 28,594.06. Hong Kong was given a boost in the afternoon trading session when casino stocks rose after Macau data showed a 22.1% rise in gross gaming revenues for October compared to one year ago. Wynn Macau rose 4% and Melco International Development soared 5.4%
In Korea, Samsung Electronics jumped 3.9% and SK Hynix gained 3.8% by the end of the session.
Australian stocks recovered from Tuesday, with energy stocks leading gains on the broader index: Santos rose 1.78 percent and Beach Energy advanced 7.7%
Against the yen, the U.S. currency rose to trade at 113.83, compared to Tuesday's close of 113.67 yen. Softness in the Japanese currency came after the Japanese central bank kept its monetary policy steady earlier this week.
Macau-based casino operator SJM Holdings announced a 16.5% decline in third-quarter profit compared to a year ago. Net profit for the quarter stood at 428 million Hong Kong dollars ($54.9 million U.S). SJM shares performed worse than other Hong Kong casino stocks, trading lower by 0.2%
Meanwhile, Alibaba Group Holding said it would be taking its annual Singles' Day online shopping event international this year, South China Morning Post reported. The tech giant said it was looking for growth in international sales to exceed local sales, the newspaper (owned by the Alibaba Group) added. Singles' Day takes place on November 11, but has since evolved into a multi-week-long retail event.
Elsewhere, Sony on Tuesday revised upwards its full-year profit for the fiscal year ending Mar. 31, 2018. The Japanese conglomerate said it expects full-year operating income to come in at 630 billion yen ($5.5 billion U.S.), substantially above a forecast of 585.8 billion yen from experts.
The New Zealand dollar rose to its highest levels in about a week after the release of data showing the unemployment rate had fallen. The kiwi dollar traded at $0.6908 U.S. late in the day.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 10.1 points, or 0.3%, to 3,996.62
China's Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for October met expectations, coming in at 51.0. The official PMI released on Tuesday had fallen just short of expectations.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 33.04 points, or 1.3%, to 2,556.47
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index was up 12.56 points, or 0.1%, to 10,806.36
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index recovered 17.53 points, or 0.5%, to 3,391.61
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slumped 92.53 points, or 1.1%, to 8,053.81
In Australia, the ASX 200 regained 28.75 points, or 0.5%, to 5,937.77
