Gains in North American stocks and better vibes for an end to the European debt crisis boosted Asian stocks Monday.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index regained 131.64 points, or 1.5%, to end the day at 8,879.60
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index leaped 372.20 points, or 2%, to 18,874.
Financial and monetary-policy officials from the Group of 20 major economies met over the weekend in France, saying European leaders would "decisively address the current challenges through a comprehensive plan" at a summit slated for Oct. 23.
The comments helped sentiment in Asian trading, as did a strong lead from Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5% and the S&P 500 added 1.7% on Friday, cheered by better-than-expected U.S. retail-sales data.
Sony Corp. closed 5% higher, Sharp Corp. added 2.8%, Advantest Corp. climbed 2.6%, and Fujitsu Ltd. rallied 3.7%.
However, Olympus Corp. tumbled 24% amid several brokerage-rating downgrades after the firm’s former chief executive, who was discharged last week, told The Wall Street Journal he had raised "serious governance concerns" with the company’s chairman.
The CEO had questioned high fees paid in a series of deals before he joined the Olympus board, and Olympus said Monday that its mergers and acquisitions "all go through appropriate procedures."
Over in Hong Kong, major clothing exporter Esprit Holdings Ltd. advanced 7.9%. A Monday report in Germany’s Handelsblatt quoted the company’s chief executive as saying Esprit could close its North American stores within roughly 12-18 months if it is unable to sell them.
Resource shares were broadly higher across Asia, with Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., or Chalco, ahead by 6.7%, Jiangxi Copper Co. rising 6.2%, and resource-and-property conglomerate Citic Pacific Ltd. improving by 8.2%.
Among Australian miners, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. added 4.5%, and Rio Tinto Ltd. rose 2.4% after saying it is seeking to sell assets to streamline its aluminum division.
Rio Tinto rival BHP Billiton Ltd. rose 2.1%, with reports saying the company is looking at possible acquisitions. One account in The Australian said that BHP could buy U.S. firm Walter Energy Inc. for about $6 billion U.S.
A second report, carried by Britain’s Sunday Times, said BHP could spend $3.1 billion U.S. to acquire unlisted Brazilian iron-ore producer Ferrous Resources.
A recent rise in crude-oil prices sent many energy firms higher, with Inpex Corp. up 2.9% and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. adding 4.2% in Tokyo, while WorleyParsons Ltd. gained 1.9% in Sydney, and Cnooc Ltd. improved by 3.3% in Hong Kong.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index added 13.17 points, or 0.5%, to 2,666.95
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained 103.04 points, or 1.4%, to 7,461.12
Korea’s Kospi Index grew 29.78 points, or 1.6%, to 1,865.18
Singapore’s Straits Times Index picked up 34.80 points, or 1.3%, to 2,778.97
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index improved 14.49 points, or 0.4%, to 3,316.96
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 69.80 points, or 1.7%, to 4,275.40
