South Korean shares gained sharply on Thursday in Asia and Japanese shares moved off early lows, following a volatile session with investors bracing for the latest twist in Europe’s debt saga.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index strengthened 85.58 points, or 1%, to 8,701.23
Trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was cancelled Thursday after a typhoon warning remained in place through the day.
Asian equities started on a weak note on Thursday but South Korean stocks rallied strongly through the day with investors heading into the end of the third quarter picking up some beaten down stocks.
Notable gainers in Seoul included chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co., up 3.7%, and Hynix Semiconductor Inc., up 6.3%.
However, experts believe that recent production cuts are likely to lead to the dynamic random access memory cycle bottoming out in the near term and said they like both Samsung and Hynix "as we believe their cost competitiveness will get stronger".
Automakers also advanced in Korea, with Hyundai Motor Co. jumping 2.9% and Kia Motors Corp. rising 1.6%, while Honda Motor Co. rose 1% and Nissan Motor Co. advanced 3.8% in Tokyo.
Nomura Securities analysts said that Nissan is their top pick of the Japanese auto sector as "it looks the most undervalued and has been generating strong sales and profits."
Still, mineral extractors were under pressure, with copper futures falling in the Asian electronic trading session. Rio Tinto Ltd. shares were down 2.5% and BHP Billiton Ltd. shares lost 1.4% while Jiangxi Copper Co. fell 2.7% in Shanghai.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index slid 22.41 points, or 0.9%, to 2,588.16
Taiwan’s Taiex Index grew 35.63 points, or 0.5%, to 7,182.61
Korea’s Kospi Index picked up 46.20 points, or 2.7%, to 1,769.29
Singapore’s Straits Times Index inched up 6.96 points, or 0.3%, to 2,708.13
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index edged up 1.45 points to 3,300.17
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index tailed off 31.20 points, or 0.8%, to 4,008.30
