Most Asian markets ended higher Wednesday after Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election, with energy and exporter shares racing ahead as investors hoped his administration will reinvigorate the world's largest economy.
The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average gained 406.6 points or 4.5% to a three-week closing high 9,521.2 while the benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 455.8 points at 14,840.2 after hitting a high of 15,317.0.
On the economic front, the Bank of Japan said that the monetary base in Japan was up 1.4% on year in October to 88.98 trillion yen, extending the 0.9% annual gain recorded in September. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the monetary base was up 6.6% on year at 89.87 trillion yen following a 15.8% annual gain in September.
Among exporters, Honda Motor jumped 13.4%, Canon gained 12.8%, Sony climbed 9.1%, and Toyota Motor rose 10.4%. Commodity-related stocks moved up after oil prices jumped more than 10% on Tuesday to above $70 a barrel on signs that Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members had cut crude exports. Mitsubishi Corp advanced 6.9% and Itochu Corp added 8.1%, and Oil and gas miner Inpex Holdings soared 16.2%.
Banks rebounded, with Mizuho Financial Group climbing 16.1%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gaining 11.3%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group rising 11.9%.
In the tech space, Advantest slipped 0.1%, but Fanuc rose 3.9%, Kyocera gained 2.4% and Fujitsu jumped 14.9%. Fujitsu said Tuesday that it will buy Siemens AG's 50% stake in their joint computer venture for Euro 450 million.
Japan Airlines closed unchanged after the Nikkei business daily reported Wednesday that the airline might post a 40% drop in operating profit for the first half.
Sanyo Electric surged for a second day on a plan by Panasonic to buy control of the company. Sanyo soared 15.4%, while Panasonic gained 7.6%.
CHINA
The Chinese stock market closed higher for the first time in four trading sessions, led by financial and construction-related stocks, as stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region rallied following Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election. Reports that the transport ministry was working on a plan to invest 5 trillion yuan over the next three to five years also boosted investor sentiment. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 53.91 points or 3.2% to close at 1,760.6.
In the financial sector, China Merchants Bank jumped 9.6%, Pudong Development Bank rose 6.2%, and Bank of China Ltd. advanced 3.3%. Construction-related stocks rose after the Chinese government released plans Wednesday for reconstruction in the southwest areas hit by a devastating earthquake in May. Hebei Taihang Cement soared by the daily limit of 10% and China Railway Erju climbed 3.0%.
Index heavyweight PetroChina gained 2.7% and China Petroleum & Chemical or Sinopec added 3.4% as crude oil prices recovered to $68 a barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan's Taiex closed down 0.3% at 4,978.
Singapore's STI closed up 2.1% at 1,868.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index closed down 0.3% at 1,366.
Malaysia's KLCI closed up 9.7 points at 915.
South Korea's Kospi added 2.4% to 1,181.50.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index advanced 1.5% to 2,886.11.
Australia's S&P/ASX rose 2.9% to 4,336.60.
with files from other wire services
