Asian stocks kicked off the fourth quarter on an upbeat note, although Wednesday's gains across most of the region couldn't match the big rally on Wall Street overnight.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed up 108.40 points or 0.96% at 11,368.26 while
The Bank of Japan's tankan corporate sentiment survey report showed that Japanese business sentiment has turned pessimistic for the first time in five years. Investors turned cautious after the headline diffusion index fell to minus 3 in September, recording the first negative result since June 2003. Analysts expected a score of minus 1. The index stood at 5 in the second quarter. The outlook survey for the fourth quarter was projected as minus 4.
Among other economic reports released today, the average cash earnings for workers in Japan dropped 0.3% on year compared to analysts' expectations for a flat reading and a 0.3% annual increase in July. Meanwhile, Japanese auto sales declined at a slower pace of 5.3% year-over-year in September compared to a sharp 14.9% fall in August.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 3.4%, Mizuho Financial Group rose 1.8%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group jumped 4.0%. Top brokerage Nomura Holdings surged 6.0% and rival Daiwa Securities gained 3.4%.
Among exporters, Honda Motor advanced 1.6%, Toyota Motor gained 1.8%, electronics giant Sony climbed 1.9%, heavy machinery maker Komatsu added 0.5%, and Canon rose 4.2%.
Japan Airlines advanced 0.5% after the airline said that Wednesday's one-day strike called by its cabin crew has been canceled and that flights will operate as usual.
In the tech sector, Advantest dropped 0.7%, but Fanuc rose 0.8%, Kyocera added 1.3%, and NEC gained 2.1%. Showa Denko jumped 3.7% after the company and Hoya Corp. said Tuesday that they would merge their hard disk media businesses. Showa Denko will own 75% of the new company.
Fuji Electric Holdings slumped 6.8% after a report in the Nikkei Business Daily said that Nidec Corp would buy Fuji's industrial motor unit for about 10 billion yen. Nidec will also take a 60% stake in Fuji Electric Motor Co by January.
Kobe Steel advanced 3.9% after the company raised its forecast for annual group net profit by 10% due to lower oil and metal prices as well as continued strong demand for high-grade steel products.
Shipping companies closed weak after the Baltic Dry Index fell 8.2% to a two-year low. Nippon Yusen shed 3.1%, Mitsui OSK Lines plunged 4.1%, and Kawasaki Kisen plummeted 4.4%.
Among oil-related stocks, Inpex Holdings slipped 0.6%, while Nippon Oil rose 1.7% and Nippon Mining Holding gained 0.7%.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan's Weighted Index closed up 44.73 points or 0.78% at 5,764.01.
Thailand's SET was little changed at 596.77.
South Korea's Kospi index fell 0.6% to 1,439.67.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 4.2% to 4,794.60.
with files from other wire services
