Asia stocks rallied Tuesday, led by gains for resource and tech shares, as the region tracked overnight advances for U.S. stocks and commodity futures.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index regained 95.40 points, or 1.1%, to 8,729.29
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong jumped 116.83 points, or 0.6%, to 19,039.15
Asia’s gains came as Wall Street bounced back Monday after suffering its worst performance of the year last week. The Nasdaq Composite Index notched its best day in five months despite a disappointing showing for newly listed Facebook Inc.
In Hong Kong, property firms were among notable advancers. Agile Property Holdings Ltd. jumped 3%, and China
Resources Land Ltd. climbed 4.3%, while Poly Real Estate Group Co. rallied 5.4% in Shanghai.
Shares of Guangshen Railway Co. put on 3% after Goldman Sachs raised its earnings estimates for the stock, citing China’s biggest rail-freight rate hike in a decade.
Tokyo-listed technology majors followed their U.S. peers higher, as Advantest Corp. put on 2.8%, Sharp Corp. rose 1.1%, and Panasonic Corp. added 1.7%.
Shares of Renesas Electronics Corp. soared 7.4% following a Yomuri Shimbun report that it plans to raise fresh capital via a share placement.
Tech names also posted sharp gains in Seoul, where Samsung Electronics Co. added 2.6%, and LG Electronics Inc. rallied 7.6%.
Auto makers also notched solid gains. In Tokyo, Mazda Motor Corp. climbed 1.9%, while Nissan Motor Co. climbed 4.4%.
Japanese utilities traded mixed, after a Nikkei news report that some plan to hike fees for peak-hour electricity usage in an effort to head off possible power shortages this summer.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. gained 0.6%, while Kansai Electric Power Co. dropped 2.2%.
Among notable decliners, Ports Design Ltd. plunged 38% in Hong Kong after its shares resumed trading following a scandal involving interest-free loans.
Resource firms across Asia gained ground, as a revival of risk appetite helped send commodity prices higher overnight.
In Hong Kong, Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. jumped 1.9% and Jiangxi Copper Co. firmed 1.2%, while diversified miner Rio Tinto Ltd. added 1.7% in Sydney.
Energy firms got a boost as crude-oil futures jumped back above $92 U.S. a barrel in New York trade on Monday.
Tokyo-listed Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. put on 1.8%, and Inpex Corp. added 2.7%, while in Sydney, Oil Search Ltd. rose 2.2%.
Graincorp Ltd. soared 8.6% after the Australian agribusiness firm beat analyst expectations with its first-half net profit and boosted its earnings guidance for the full year.
Also reporting earnings, Leighton Holdings Ltd. rose 3.8% after the construction firm said it expects to sell more non-core assets to boost its balance sheet, while posting a loss for the first-quarter.
Stock in Qantas Airways Ltd. gained 2.8% after the carrier said it will split its international and domestic divisions into separate units and announced the resignation of the chief executive of its budget airline Jetstar.
Wednesday was likely to be a busier day for headlines, with Japanese trade data for April due out, along with a policy decision from the Bank of Japan.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index reacquired 40.29 points, or 1.6%, to 2,627.53
Singapore's Straits Times Index added 33.59 points, or 1.2%, to 2,823.75
Korea’s Kospi Index gained 29.56 points, or 1.6%, to 1,828.69
Taiwan’s Taiex Index grew 82.66 points, or 1.2%, to 7,274.89
New Zealand’s NXZ Index flourished 36.47 points, or 1%, to 3,529.86
Australia’s ASX Index progressed 47.38 points, or 1.2%, to 4,121.
