Most Asian markets ended higher Friday as strong U.S. economic data helped restore some investor confidence, with Bank of China and Samsung Electronics among the gainers after encouraging third-quarter results.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 reversed its downward field, and gained 143.64 points, or 1.5%, to 10.034.74.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index added 487.88 points, or 2.3%, to 21,752.87. Both Tokyo and Hong Kong ended three-session losing streaks.
Hong Kong shares led regional gains as the market rebounded after a sharp sell-off in recent days. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China gained 3.5% and Bank of China surged 5.8% after both banks reported stronger-than-expected third quarter results.
In Shanghai, the stocks rose 2.2% and 2.3%, respectively.
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics gained 0.7% after its third-quarter net profit of 3.72 trillion won ($3.1 billion U.S.) beat expectations, with the company saying it also expected a solid fourth quarter on seasonal demand.
But the market ended lower with auto makers falling on worries about the impact of the end of the U.S. "cash for clunkers" program. Hyundai Motor dropped 4.8% and Kia Motors gave up 1.1%. Banks also fell, with KB Financial Group shedding 1.5%.
In Sydney, materials stocks recovered after their recent declines, with Rio Tinto climbing 4.6% and Woodside Petroleum gaining 2.2%.
In Tokyo, steel maker JFE Holdings climbed 3.4% and Inpex Corp. rose 1.9%, while Mitsui & Co. added 2.4%
CHINA
The Shanghai’s 300 Composite Index gained back 33.32 points, or 1%, to 3,280.37.
Stocks trading on China's new Nasdaq-style board, ChiNext, benefited from strong demand for new listings on the board's debut. All 28 companies listing on the ChiNext ended higher, with some more than doubling in value.
But traders warned there could be sharp volatility ahead. "The ChiNext companies are now trading around 100 times [price-to-earnings ratios] as their initial public offerings were sold at an average P/E of above 50 times," said Wang Junqing at Guosen Securities.
Shares of Chengdu Geeya Technology Co. ended at 35 yuan ($5.12 U.S.), more than tripling from its IPO at 11.3 yuan, while Huayi Brothers Media Corp. more than doubled to 70.81 yuan from its IPO at 28.58 yuan.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan’s Taiex index fell back 15.61 points, or 0.2%, to 7,340.08
Singapore’s Straits Times index put on 18.82 points, or 0.7%, to 2,651.13
Korea’s Kospi index retreated 5.16 points, to 0.3%, to 1,580.69
New Zealand’s NZX Index finished 20 points, or 0.6%, in the black to 3,215.62
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained back 68.50 points, or 1.5%, to 4,643.20
