Most Asian markets ended higher Tuesday, with a strong outlook for nonferrous and precious metals driving several stocks in the sector, while hopes for better semiconductor memory prices boosted shares of chip makers.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 16.12 points, or 0.2%, to 10,519
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index subtracted 2.99 points to 24,154.
Those gains helped regional stocks end on a mostly positive note, overcoming weakness in several steel makers on concerns about their earnings.
Nonferrous metal stocks broadly climbed across the region after Morgan Stanley issued robust outlooks for aluminum, zinc, gold and silver, while keeping a positive view on copper prices.
Shares of Aluminum Corp. of China climbed 0.7% in Shanghai and surged 5.5% in Hong Kong, while Korea Zinc added 2.2% in Seoul.
Elsewhere in the region, Alumina jumped 3.7% and Newcrest Mining added 0.6% in Sydney.
In Tokyo, Nippon Steel lost 1.4% after the Nikkei reported that higher raw material costs could see the company post a group pretax profit for the current fiscal year of around 220 billion yen ($2.65 billion U.S.), roughly ¥30 billion below the firm’s forecast.
In Australia, BlueScope Steel shed 0.9% after Macquarie downgraded the stock to underperform from neutral and cut its earnings per share forecast for 2011 by 32%, saying the continued strength of the Australian dollar is expected to offset higher steel prices.
On mainland bourses, Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. fell 0.6% and Angang Steel declined 0.9% after the two firms issued earnings guidance suggesting they posted losses for the fourth quarter. In Hong Kong, Angang’s shares retraced early declines to rise 0.5% after losing 2.7% over the previous three sessions, while Maanshan declined 2.1%.
Also in Hong Kong, shares of Hutchison Whampoa which had tacked on nearly 20% in 2011 to Monday, fell 2.4%. The drop came on news the company is planning an initial public offering of its southern China port assets in Singapore. The listing could raise up to $6 billion U.S., according to a person familiar with the situation.
In Sydney, iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals Group jumped 8% after a strong fourth-quarter production report showing shipments rose 12.6% from a year earlier.
A few regional technology stocks declined after a 6.2% drop in Apple Inc. shares in the Frankfurt market, following news that Chief Executive Steve Jobs is taking a medical leave of absence.
Shares of Kyocera dropped 0.7% in Tokyo, while Apple component supplier TPK Holding Co. fell 2.4% in Taipei.
But makers of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM chips, rallied after the Nikkei reported Tuesday that Elpida Memory plans to raise prices by about 10% as early as this month. Elpida added 1.1% after shedding 37% over the course of 2010. Samsung Electronics added 2.1% and Hynix Semiconductor rose 2.8% in Seoul, with Inotera Memories climbing 2.5% and Nanya Technology Corp. gaining 1.5% in Taipei.
Shares of Powerchip Technology Corp., Taiwan’s biggest maker of computer memory chips by capacity, climbed 2.8%, with Vice President Eric Tang saying he expects global prices of DRAM chips to bottom in the first quarter.
In foreign-exchange markets, the euro rebounded against major currencies and was buying $1.3356 from $1.3296 U.S. late Monday in Toronto, and 110.20 yen from ¥109.96. The dollar was buying ¥82.52, compared with ¥82.67.
CHINA
Markets in China, which tumbled 3% in the previous session and traded lower for most of Tuesday on the central bank’s move on Friday to tighten banks’ reserve requirements, ended 0.1% higher on bargain buying in banking stocks.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index tacked on 3.30 points, or 0.1%, to 2,977.65
The state-run China Securities Journal reported that China’s gross domestic product grew 10.1% in 2010, compared with a 9.2% increase in 2009. The report cited a source at China’s top economic planning agency.
Shares of China Construction Bank Corp. climbed 0.6% and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China added 0.7% in Shanghai.
In other markets
Korea’s Kospi Index slid 3.37 points, or 0.2%, to 2,096.48
Taiwan’s Taiex Index advanced 72.91 points, or 0.7%, to 8,988
Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 10.95 points, or 0.3%, to 3,249.58
New Zealand’s NZX 50 dipped 10.56 points, or 0.3%, to 3,343.74
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index regained 38.70 points, or 0.8%, to 4,801.80
