Asian markets ended mostly higher Thursday as solid gains in commodity prices and an advance on Wall Street overnight superseded geopolitical worries in the Mideast and North Africa as well as concerns over sovereign debt in the euro-zone.
The Nikkei 225 Index fell back 14.46 points, or 0.2%, to 9,435.01
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rallied 89.88 points, or 0.4%, to 22,915.30
Japanese stocks ended with modest losses after a choppy session as uncertainty about the stability of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power complex and worries about the economic impact from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami spurred a decline in several manufacturers.
Several resource-sector shares jumped in the region after gold prices hit a record high and copper prices soared overnight in New York, with energy shares also inspired as Nymex crude-oil prices stayed above $105-U.S.-a-barrel.
BHP Billiton Ltd. added 1.2%, Rio Tinto Ltd. rose 1.1% and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. added 1.3% in Sydney. Cnooc Ltd. rose 1.8% and Zijin Mining Group Co. climbed 1.5% in Hong Kong. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. gained 4.7% in Tokyo.
Shares of China Life Insurance Co. dropped 1.9% in Hong Kong, extending Wednesday’s losses, after Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley both downgraded the stock in the wake of the company’s 2010 results, announced Tuesday.
Japanese shares struggled for traction amid worries that the earthquake-damage costs will exceed the 25 trillion yen ($308.6 billion U.S.) that the government had estimated.
Economists at Capital Economics estimated that the Japanese economy will likely contract in both the first and second quarters of 2011, but remain flat over the full year. They added that spending on reconstruction will boost the nation’s gross domestic product.
Several manufacturers lost ground, with Nissan Motor Co. slumping 4.6% after Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn was quoted as saying in a Bloomberg News interview that about 40 parts suppliers in Japan were hampered by the devastating earthquake on March 11.
Ghosn reportedly added that auto makers, including Nissan, will have a "tough" time during the quarter beginning April 1, though impact from plant closures will be minimal in the year ending March 31.
Among other major decliners, Toyota Motor Corp. fell 2.7%, Honda Motor Co. lost 2.6% and Canon Inc. shed 3.4%.
Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the stricken nuclear plant, slumped 14% on news it has withdrawn its earlier plan to pay a year-end dividend of ¥30 a share as it gauges the impact of the earthquake and the subsequent effects on its earnings.
South Korean stocks advanced as continued foreign investor purchases bolstered automobile companies. Hyundai Motor Co. rose 4.2% and Kia Motors Corp. climbed 3.4% on positive earnings outlooks, and as Japanese auto makers encounter production disruptions.
In foreign-exchange markets, the euro pared losses, after falling sharply against the U.S. dollar in the wake of the Portuguese Parliament’s rejection of an austerity plan and subsequent resignation of the country’s prime minister.
The euro, which fell as low as $1.4052 U.S., was more recently at $1.4092 from $1.4086 U.S. in late New York trade Wednesday, and at ¥114.01 from ¥113.96. The dollar was at ¥80.87, from ¥80.91
Shandong Gold-Mining Co. added 0.8% in Shanghai.
Shares of China Hongqiao Group Ltd., a Chinese aluminum-product manufacturer, rose on its debut to end at 7.90 Hong Kong dollars ($1.01 U.S.), compared with its initial public offer price at HK$7.20.
In other markets:
The Shanghai CSI 300 Index stepped back 13.56 points, or 0.4%, to 3,251.36.
Taiwan’s Taiex Index tacked on 31.72 points, or 0.4%, to 8,576.40
Korea’s Kospi Index prospered 24.60 points, or 1.2%, to 2,036.78
Singapore’s Straits Times Index ticked up 20.84 points, or 0.7%, to 3,043.03
New Zealand’s NZX 50 improved 11.46 points, or 0.3%, to 3,387.25
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 grew 47.20 points, or 1%, to 4,699.60
