Asian stocks ended mostly higher Tuesday, with steelmakers leading gains in Tokyo while property and banking stocks stood out in Hong Kong.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 advanced 110.67 points, or 1%, to 11,097.16, marking its highest closing level since Oct. 2, 2008.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong jumped 137.36 points, or 0.7%, to 21,374.79.
Institutional funds were active in the second-to-last trading session of the first quarter, according to market analysts in Hong Kong.
One expert said some investors were seeking to lock in profits on some better-performing holdings, taking advantage of the high turnover to exit stocks.
Sentiment was also bolstered by overnight data showing U.S. personal spending rose for a fifth straight month in February.
Markets were also looking ahead toward U.S. nonfarm-payrolls data for March due out Friday, which are projected to show the largest global economy added about 200,000 jobs.
Materials stocks lifted the Australian market as investors responded to gains in commodity prices.
Shares of BHP Billiton advanced 2.4%, while Rio Tinto tacked on 1.1% and Fortescue rose 2.9%.
Industrials and energy stocks were also attracting strong demand, with Woodside Petroleum rising 0.5%.
Japanese technology stocks mostly advanced, with Sony ending with a 2% gain and Canon adding 2.5%.
Other standouts in Tokyo included steelmakers Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries, their shares gaining by 2.5% and 2.1%, respectively.
The companies reportedly have reached a tentative accord with Brazilian mining giant Vale SA on a roughly 90% increase in iron-ore prices for the April-June period.
Brokers said the share prices gained on the view that the companies have the latitude to pass on the higher costs for raw materials to customers.
Kobe Steel also rose, up 2.6% after management upgraded the company's net profit outlook for fiscal 2009.
South Korea's Posco, however, was down as much as 0.7% in late trading on concerns over raw materials; Posco and Nippon Steel, which jointly purchase iron ore, were involved in the provisional agreement with Vale.
Also in Seoul, industrial Daewoo Shipbuilding advanced as much as 1.9% in late trading, helped news of a $210-million U.S. crude-oil carrier order from a client in Greece.
Hong Kong investors were betting on Macau gambling stocks, reacting after casino operator SJM Holdings on Monday reported better-than-expected 2009 earnings results.
SJM's shares rose 7.5%, while Shun Tak gained 2.5%. Performance in the sector was mixed, with shares of fellow casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group ending 1.4% lower.
China Construction Bank gained 1.8% after the country's second-largest lender by assets said Monday it plans to raise funds on Shanghai and Hong Kong's securities markets this year, as part of efforts to keep its capital adequacy ratio above 11.5% over the coming five years.
Hutchison Whampoa, the conglomerate controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, ended 2.7% lower after releasing 2009 earnings that fell short of expectations.
Cheung Kong Holdings, which owns a nearly 50% stake in Hutchison and is its major shareholder, ended 0.5% lower after its results met, but didn't blow away, expectations.
Henderson Land was among the top gaining blue-chip property stocks in Hong Kong, rising 1.4%. Fellow Hang Seng index constituent Hang Lung Properties added 2.1%
In foreign-exchange markets, the euro continued to benefit against the U.S. dollar on receding concerns around Greece's debt burden.
The common currency was fetching $1.3485 U.S., up from $1.3475 U.S. late in New York Monday, and was at 124.67 Japanese yen as opposed to 124.65 yen. The dollar was buying 92.42 yen, compared with 92.49 yen.
Elsewhere;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index added 8.17 points, or 0.2%, to 3,366.71
Korea’s Kospi index grew by 8.20 points, or 0.5%, to 1,700.19
Singapore’s Straits Times Index moved up 4.25 points, or 0.2%, to 2,933.39
Taiwan’s Taiex Index advanced 14.77 points, or 0.2%, to 7,962.22
New Zealand’s NZX Index eased 1.45 points to 3,249.65
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 moved ahead 19.50 points, or 0.4%, to 4,916.80
