Asian indexes ended mostly higher Monday, with Australian shares soaring after the country's securities-market regulator imposed a blanket ban on short selling on shares of all listed companies. Chinese stocks in Shanghai surged on strong buying after the government last week unveiled initiatives to shore up the country's ailing stock markets.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 169.73 points, or 1.4%, at 12,090.59 while the benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 304.5 points at 19,632.2.
On the economic front, the minutes of the monetary policy meeting held in August showed that the board members felt that the outlook for the U.S. economy is uncertain because of falling housing prices and volatility in global financial markets. The board voted unanimously to keep its key overnight call rate target unchanged at the meeting. It kept interest rates on hold again at 0.5% at a subsequent review last week.
Meanwhile, an index measuring industrial activity in Japan increased 0.8% in July, in line with analyst expectations, following a revised 1.0% monthly decline in June, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
Additionally, Japan's supermarket sales adjusted for the number of stores decreased 9% on year in August, after recording a 0.9% increase in July, the Japan Chain Stores Association said in a report published on Monday. In July, sales had increased for the first time in four months due to higher sales of food products despite rising prices.
Nomura Holdings surged 9.6% on news that the Japanese brokerage has won an auction for the entire Asian operations of bankrupt U.S. investment firm Lehman Brothers Holdings. Inpex Holdings soared 9.7% after crude futures shot up Friday.
Among sea transporters, Kawasaki Kisen gained 3.1%, Mitsui OSK Lines jumped 3.8%, and Nippon Yusen surged 4.4%.
In the financial sector, Mizuho Financial Group rose 2.9%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climbed 2.6%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gained 4.2%. Insurer Sompo Japan Insurance rose 2.1% and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance soared 7.4%.
Among exporters, Honda Motor climbed 5.1%, Toyota added 3.2%, electronics giant Sony gained 4.5%, machinery maker Komatsu advanced 3.6% and Canon rose 2.1%.
The Chinese market closed sharply higher, extending Friday's 9.5% rally, after regulators announced further measures to support the markets. China's securities regulator announced Sunday that listed firms will no longer be needed to obtain prior approval for share buybacks. Last week, regulators cancelled the stamp duty on share purchases and the sovereign wealth fund announced plans to buy shares in state-owned banks. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed up 161.32 points or 7.77% at 2,236.41.
The U.S. government's plan to bail out its financial institutions also added to positive investor sentiment. Financial stocks led the gains, with all banks again rising by the daily limit. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank all jumped 10% each.
Elsewhere in the financial sector, Ping An Insurance and China Life Insurance (SHA advanced 10% each, while CITIC Securities, the country's largest listed broker, gained 10%.
Refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp or Sinopec climbed 8.9% and index heavyweight PetroChina surged 10%. Shandong Gold-Mining advanced 10% after its parent Shandong Gold Group announced plans to inject some of its gold mines into the listed subsidiary.
In the food sector, Bright Dairy & Food and Beijing Sanyuan Foods both rose 10% each, while Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial added 1.4%.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan's Taiex closed up 2.5% at 6,110.
Singapore's STI closed down 0.6% at 2,544.
Malaysia's KLCI closed up 0.3% at 1,028,
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index closed up 0.3% at 1,897.
India's Senex closed down 0.6% at 13,952.
South Korea's Kospi gained 0.3%.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index advanced 2.2%.
Australia's All Ordinaries rose 209.4 points, or 4.3%, to finish at 5,050.1.
with files from other wire services
