Japan stocks rallied hard Friday, outpacing regional markets and standing tall in a week of hefty losses for global equities, as the yen’s recent weakness on speculation that a radical change in monetary policy may be imminent boosted exporters.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index raced higher by 194.44 points, or 2.2%, to close the week at 9,024.16
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 50.08 points, or 0.2%, to 21,159.01
The Japanese stock advance came even as the yen fell after strong gains earlier in the week, following opposition Liberal Democratic Party Leader Shinzo Abe’s call for "unlimited easing" by the Bank of Japan. Despite Friday’s drop, the dollar-yen pair has gained more than 1.8% so far this week.
The Nikkei gained 3% during the week, as compared to losses of between 1.1% and 2.8% for the benchmark indexes in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul and Taipei.
In Tokyo, a number of sectors posted solid gains.
Sony Corp. rose 3.3%, Canon Inc. soared 5.8% and heavyweight robotics firm Fanuc Corp. rose 3.8%.
Among car makers, Toyota Motor Corp. climbed 3.4% and Nissan Motor Co. jumped 5.1%.
Power companies gained as well, amid some expectation that a switch to an LDP government could result in pro-nuclear-power policies, with Kansai Electric Power Co. up 3.8%.
The case for new measures to support the economy likely found further support after the Japanese government downgraded its assessment of the economy for the fourth month in a row.
After the end of the day’s trading, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan dissolved the lower house of the parliament and called a snap election for Dec. 16. The LDP is expected to win in the elections, and Abe is seen becoming the nation’s leader — and if so, he would be Japan’s seventh prime minister in less than seven years.
Beverage maker Kirin Holdings Co. declined 2.2%, however, after the firm said it will sell its 15% stake in Fraser & Neave Ltd. to Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd. for 1.9 billion Singapore dollars ($1.6 billion U.S). Kirin will then aim to buy back Fraser & Neave’s food-and-drink operations for S$2.7 billion U.S.
In Singapore, shares of Fraser & Neave rallied 2% by late afternoon.
In Hong Kong, some trade-related names saw gains, with China Merchants Holdings International Co. climbing 0.7%, while Cosco Pacific Ltd. rose 1.9%.
South Korean shares were under pressure, with tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. declining 1.8%, while auto maker Hyundai Motor Co. climbed 1.9%.
Australian shares also fell, with financials weighing. Westpac Banking Corp. declined 0.9%, and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. fell 1.6%.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 Composite Index lost 16.38 points, or 0.8%, to 2,177.24
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index doffed 0.29 points to 2,945.63
Korea’s Kospi index gave back 9.89 points, or 0.5%, to 1,860.83
Taiwan’s Taiex Index shed 13.77 points, or 0.2%, to 7,130.07
New Zealand’s NZX 50 decreased 3.66 points, or 0.1%, to 3,947.84
Australia’s ASX Index lost 12.40 points, or 0.3%, to 4,336.85
