Stocks in Shanghai rose to their highest level since July 2011 on Tuesday, while the Australian market rebounded on a recovery in oil prices.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 73.12 points, or 0.4%, to 17,663.22, its third straight increase, even though Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Japan’s credit rating by one-notch late Monday. The market got a lift from the U.S. dollar, which rose 0.5% to 118.86 against the Japanese yen.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index recovered 286.85 points, or 1.2%, to 23,654.30, after a tumble on Monday of 620 points.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose after an overnight rebound in oil prices. Benchmark U.S. oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange surged 4.3% to $69 U.S. a barrel, the largest percentage gain in more than two years in a rally that snapped four sessions of losses.
BHP Billiton Ltd. which fell to a 5 1/2 -year low Monday, helped drive the market with a gain of 3.9%. Rio Tinto added 2.2%, OZ Minerals rose 5.4% and Newcrest Mining increased 7.7%.
The same energy sector stocks knocked 3.6% off Australia’s benchmark in the last two trading sessions, when investors worried that a sustained drop in oil prices would weigh on the bottom line of the country’s oil producers.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index zoomed 104.13 points, or 3.7%, to 2,923.94, as investors bought brokerage stocks and banks.
Of 19 listed brokerages, 10 hit their 10% daily upside limit. Analysts expect them to profit as trading volumes and the balance of lending to investors for margin trading pick up with a new link to Hong Kong drawing capital from global investors. Leverage ratios are also expected to rise as Chinese regulators ease controls on financing channels for brokerages.
Bank stocks also rallied as investors bet on further monetary easing. Official data Monday showed a worse-than-expected slowdown in China’s manufacturing activity. China Minsheng Banking Corp. and Bank of Communications rose by the 10% daily upper limit to 10.01 yuan and 9.96 yuan, respectively. Bank of China added 5.3% to 3.56 yuan.
In other markets;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index regained 16.68 points, or 0.5%, to 3,322.32
The Taiex index in Taiwan shed 82.92 points, or 0.9%, to 9,034.79
Korea’s Kospi index inched up 0.61 points to 1,965.83
New Zealand’s Exchange 50 nicked ahead 0.41 points to 5,430.04
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 73.54 points, or 1.4%, to 5,281.26.
