Asian stock markets made small moves Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy meeting, as investors digested a number of corporate earnings reports.
The Nikkei 225 index in Japan removed 70.06 points, or 0.5%, to 14,325.98, with the index weighed by strength in the yen — at ¥97.52 to the dollar late in Asia, compared with ¥97.67 late Monday in New York.
Tuesday’s swings continued a period of volatility for the Japanese index, which has bounced violently up and down in reaction to relatively small movements in the yen. On Monday, the Nikkei Average jumped 2.2%, rebounding from a sharp fall on Friday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 39.96 points, or 0.2%, to 22,846.54
Australia was under pressure, after a speech by Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens cast doubt on the health of the Australian economy. Stevens also said that the local currency’s current level wasn’t consistent with the underlying economic fundamentals. The Australian dollar fell to 95.09 U.S. cents from 95.77 U.S. cents.
The earnings season rolled on, with markets across the region digesting a wide range of earnings reports.
In Tokyo, KDDI gained 2.4% after the telecommunications company reported a record-high and consensus-beating operating profit for the first half of the fiscal year, due to a stronger-than-expected increase in subscription and a rise in usage revenue.
Japanese suppliers to Apple fell after the U.S. technology giant reported that it sold fewer than expected iPhones in the quarter ended September. Taiyo Yuden fell 2.1%, and Murata Manufacturing lost 1.7%.
In Sydney, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group rose 1.2% after reporting a forecast-beating fiscal 2013 cash profit, as well as a dividend that was higher than expected.
In South Korea, SK Hynix dropped 3.5% as profit-taking emerged after the world’s second-largest maker of memory chips reported a sharp increase in its third-quarter net profit. The stock had a strong run-up in recent weeks, and was still up 5.6% month-to-date.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 inched forward 6.10 points, or 0.3%, to 2,372.05
Korea’s Kospi Index moved higher 3.62 points, or 0.2%, to 2,051.76
Taiwan’s Taiex Index improved 13.15 points, or 0.2%, to 8,420.98
The Singapore Straits Times Index nicked up 0.97 points to 3,208.82
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 returned from a long weekend to lose 10.76 points, or 0.2%, to 4,852.59
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dipped 25.88 points, or 0.5%, to 5,415.53
