Japan stocks rallied the most in two weeks on Wednesday, as strong corporate earnings results helped push the markets higher.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index spiked 342.89 points, or 2%, to 17,678.74. The yen was little changed against the U.S. dollar at ¥117.37 from ¥117.33 the previous day.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 124.98 points, or 0.5%, to 24,679.76,
Japan’s largest bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. surged 5.2%, after reporting a 18% year-on-year jump in profit for the nine-month period through December.
Video game developer Capcom Co., Ltd. soared 6.9%, as its April-to-December profit climbed 10% despite a fall in revenues.
Other top gainers included Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Company, Ltd., spiking 6.8%, and Fujitsu Ltd., rising 3.9%.
However, electronics giant Sharp Corporation tumbled 4.5%, after posting a net loss in the April-December period and also expected to see a net loss for the full year. Rival Panasonic Corporation declined 2%, as its quarterly profit was below the year-earlier level.
In other markets;
The Shanghai CS300 index eased 35.68 points, or 1%, to 3,401.77
The Kospi in Korea gained 10.83 points, or 0.6%, to 1,962.79
In Taiwan, the Taiex index gathered 65.19 points, or 0.7%, to 9,513.92
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index picked up 9.55 points, or 0.3%, to 3,417.57
New Zealand’s NZX 50 index improved 3.37 points, or 0.1%, to 5,785.32
The S&P/ASX index gained 69.98 points, or 1.2%, to 5,777.34
