Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday, with a sudden and sharp jump in afternoon trading in Shanghai helping some other markets pare losses or rebound. Japanese stocks slid to a fresh low for 2010, hurt by weak exporters.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 vaulted 82.80 points, or 3.1%, to 2,782.13, the day's best performer among the major regional benchmarks. The benchmark got a shot in the arm from a strong rally in banking shares. China Citic Bank Corp. jumped by the day's 10% limit, Bank of Nanjing Co. rising 9.8% and China Construction Bank gaining 3%.
The jump came amid expectations that Beijing would act to support the market ahead of Agricultural Bank of China's upcoming multibillion dollar initial public offering. Sentiment was also aided after Reuters reported that China's exports jumped about 50% in May from a year earlier. The report cited sources who had been briefed by a senior government official.
AgBank hopes to raise between $20 billion and $30 billion U.S. from its IPO.
The gains in Shanghai also helped a recovery in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index also reversed early losses as Chinese financials posted handsome gains. Bank of China and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China gained 1.1% each, with China Life Insurance rising 1.7%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index leaped 133.76 points, or 0.7%, to 19,621.24
In Japan, shares lost ground on futures-related selling ahead of the contract settlement on
Friday. The market shrugged off new Prime Minister Naoto Kan's unveiling of a cabinet on Tuesday that signaled a heightened resolve to curb public debt as investors awaited detailed policy plans.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 settled 98.81 points, or 1%, to 9,439.13
Auto makers fell on concerns labour costs at their Chinese factories would rise in the wake of assembly plant strikes affecting Honda Motor Co. Shares of Honda dropped 2.8% after being hit by another strike in southern China at an affiliated parts company that supplies exhaust pipes for the Japanese auto maker.
China's state news agency Xinhua reported the strike ended Tuesday night after workers reached a deal with the company's management. Honda said it cannot confirm the strike is over. Toyota Motor Corp. lost 1.3% and Nissan Motor Co. shed 3.6%.
Technology exporters were also weak, with Sony Corp. dropping 1.7% and Sharp Corp. 0.8%.
Fanuc bucked the market and ended 0.7% higher, aided by a report in the Nikkei that the company plans to raise its output of industrial robots by nearly 70% to a record 2,500 units a month by autumn.
South Korea's market ended lower after a choppy session that saw technology plays and auto makers decline. Samsung Electronics fell 1.9% and Hynix Semiconductor lost 4.5%, tracking a fall in Intel shares on Tuesday after analysts pointed to signs of weakening demand.
Kia Motors dropped 2.4% and Hyundai Motor gave up 1.8% on profit taking after recent gains.
Investors, however, appeared unfazed by a report in the Business Standard on Wednesday that said a meeting organized by the Indian government's chief labor commissioner failed to resolve the strike at Hyundai Motor's India unit.
In Sydney, Brambles fell 2.6% as it continued to hurt from news this week that its CHEP America division recently lost the ConAgra pallet contract.
In the foreign-exchange markets, the euro was trading at $1.1945 U.S., down from $1.1952 U.S. late Tuesday in New York, and at 109.08 yen compared with 109.22 yen. The dollar was at 91.32 yen from 91.44 yen.
Elsewhere;
Singapore’s Straits Times Index slid 0.81 points to 2,745.80
Korea’s Kospi index subtracted 4.26 points, or 0.3%, to 1,647.22
Taiwan’s Taiex index slumped 80.32 points, or 1.1%, to 7,071.67
New Zealand’s NZX index added 11.13 points, or 0.4%, to close at 3,000.11
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 4.10 points, or 0.1%, to 4,385.30
