Major Asian stock markets ended mostly higher Monday as investors reacted to better-than-expected U.S. employment figures and upbeat data over the weekend on the Chinese economy, with Shanghai-listed shares leading the way.
The Nikkei 225 Index in Japan took on 6.36 points, or 0.1%, to close out the week’s first session at 9,533.75
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 85.55 points, or 0.4%, to 22,276.72
Broadly, investors were picking up on higher-than-anticipated U.S. employment figures for November, out Friday, and a slew of stronger Chinese data released Sunday — including industrial production and retail sales figures.
That data fed into optimism that world economies can grow at moderate levels next year "if confidence can be maintained by a reasonable outcome on the U.S. fiscal policy negotiations," according to one observer
Iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. rallied 6.9% in Sydney after the firm said it’s in talks to sell a part of its shareholding in the Nullagine iron-ore mine to joint-venture partner BC Iron Ltd.
Trade in shares of BC Iron was on a temporary halt in Sydney.
Economic data out Monday showed Japan’s current-account surplus widened in October. Final data also showed the country’s gross domestic product contracted 0.9% in the third quarter, unrevised from an initial estimate. The GDP data implies Japan is in a so-called technical recession.
The data saw the yen extend a recent bout of weakness, with the dollar reaching 82.32 yen.
Among the notable gainers in Tokyo, Advantest Corp. gained 3.9%, with the firm expecting that its sales may rise 20% this quarter from the previous quarter, according to a Bloomberg report.
Citizen Holdings Co. rose 0.5%, and chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp. climbed 3%.
Panasonic Corp. fell 0.7% amid reports it planned to sell off some of its real-estate assets, including a Kyodo News account that its Panasonic Tokyo Shiodome office tower may be for sale.
Sharp Corp. pared its December gains to 18.6%, as it fell 5.6% Monday.
Amid concerns about Europe, financials lost ground, with Nomura Holdings Inc. dropping 2.3% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. losing 1%.
Financials also edged lower in South Korea, where KB Financial Group Inc. lost 0.6% and Hana Financial Group Inc. dropped 0.9%.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Co. 0.7%, and heavyweight technology major Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.7%.
CHINA
Chinese trade data out Monday caused a brief wobble, as the country’s exports slowed to 2.9% year-on-year in November, well below the 11.6% increase in October and the 9.6% rise tipped in a Dow Jones Newswires survey of economists.
The Shanghai CSI 300 Composite Index added 24.29 points, or 1.1%, Monday to 2,271.05
Chinese property and resource stocks posted strong gains in Hong Kong, with China Resources Land Ltd. climbing 2.1% and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. climbing 1.5%.
Oil major Cnooc Ltd. climbed 1.1% after Canadian authorities on Friday approved its $15.1-billion U.S. proposed buyout of Canada’s Nexen Inc.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gained 7.23 points, or 0.2%, to 3,114.34
Korea’s Kospi index shaved off 0.03 points to 1,957.42
Taiwan’s Taiex Index dropped 32.76 points, or 0.4%, to 7,609.50
New Zealand’s NZX 50 fell 10.75 points, or 0.3%, to 4,030.77
Australia’s ASX Index improved 6.19 points, or 0.1%, to 4,557.95
