Most Asian equity markets ended higher Thursday, keying on a strong rally overnight on Wall Street, but robust economic data from China failed to lift shares in Shanghai as investors there locked in some profits.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index finished ahead 74.91 points, or 0.8%, for its third straight positive session.
In Hong Kong, shares reversed some gains on "consolidation" ahead of financial results from J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup, one expert said. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index tacked on another 103.21 points, or 0.6%, to end the day at 18,361.87.
Resource-sector shares in the region were broadly higher, in spite of Shanghai, as investors were comforted by the deluge of data from China.
Among commodity plays, shares of BHP Billiton gained 1.8% and Rio Tinto jumped 4.6% in Sydney, while Korea Zinc soared 6.8% in Seoul, Inpex gained 1.7% in Tokyo and Zijin Mining Group advanced 3.2% in Hong Kong.
Some Asian market participants were watching for news on U.S. lender CIT Group, after it said in a terse statement it had been "advised" it couldn't expect government aid. The company was likely to file for bankruptcy Friday, media reports said.
In Tokyo, Mazda Motor ended up 6.2%, though Toyota Motor said there was no truth to an earlier Nikkei report it planned to provide hybrid components to Mazda.
Toyota's shares gained 0.9% on the session.
Meanwhile, Nisshin Steel gained 5.7% after the Asahi Shimbun reported that Nippon Steel planned to make Nisshin part of its corporate group by lifting its stake in the company to as much as 20%, up from about 10%. Nippon Steel's shares climbed 3.4%.
Another big mover, shares of Sinotruk, soared 15% in Hong Kong, after German truck maker Man Group said it would buy a 25%-plus-one-share stake in the company.
In South Korea, Hyundai Engineering & Construction gained 4.6% and GS Engineering & Construction rose 4.5%, moving higher on news their consortium had won contracts worth $9.2 billion from Abu Dhabi Gas Industries to set up integrated gas system projects.
Property heavyweights in Singapore advanced, as government data showed a sharp rise in new home sales during June. Shares of City Developments surged 4.4% as CapitaLand gained 2.8%.
CHINA
Shanghai-listed stocks opened higher and gained further after official data showed the Chinese economy expanded at a faster-than-expected pace of 7.9% in the second quarter over the year-earlier period. And even as profit-taking in the transportation and resource sectors took hold, the Shanghai 300 Composite ended up 7.94 points, or 0.2% at 3,501.24.
Among high-profile names trading in Shanghai, shares of SAIC Motor fell 3%, China Southern Airlines dropped 2.4%, PetroChina eased 0.7% and China Shenhua Energy gave up 0.6%.
Whether the recovery would continue would seem in some doubt, because the Chinese government is still the driver behind much of the growth and asset-price bubbles, and with inflation risks rising. Some economists have been speculating about the chance of monetary-policy tightening by the end of this year or early in 2010.
Elsewhere:
Singapore’s Straits Times Index increased 11.60 points, or 0.5%, to 2,401.02
South Korea’s Kospi index stepped forward 11.36 points, or 0.8%, to 1,432.22
Taiwan’s Taiex leaped 41.70 points, or 0.6%, to 6,780.30
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index ended the day 37.43 points, or 1.4%, higher to 2,801.52
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 prospered 71.10 points, or 1.8%, to 3,995.60
