Asian indexes advanced Wednesday after a record finish on Wall Street overnight, with stocks in Sydney, Seoul and Shanghai finishing at record highs of their own while Japanese indexes gained on exporters such as Honda Motor Co. and Nintendo Co.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average rose 0.2 percent to 17,194.41, but the broader Topix index came off its earlier highs and was little changed at 1,659.96.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended up 1.2 percent at 28,569.33, led by China-related issues such as China Mobile and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, aided by a string of record finishes in Shanghai recently.
n Tokyo, Nintendo stock rose 4.1 percent and Honda shares rose 0.5 percent, encouraged by a higher close on Wall Street.
Sony Corp. stock wavered after the company's games unit said Tuesday it would reduce the prices of its next-generation PlayStation 3 game consoles in Japan and offer a new low-range model beginning in November.
Shares of Mazda Motor Corp. added 0.5 percent after Nikkei business news reported that it plans to set up a small-car plant in Thailand with top shareholder Ford Motor Co. The new factory is slated to enter operation in 2009 and produce 100,000 vehicles annually, the report said.
Resources stocks soared across the region and crude oil and metal prices rebounded overnight. In Tokyo, shares of oil and gas producer Inpex Holdings Inc. soared 3.4 percent and in Sydney, shares of BHP Billiton advanced 2.5 percent.
ELSEWHERE:
JAKARTA: Indonesia's Jakarta Composite climbed 1.6 percent to 2,588.01.
SEOUL: In South Korea, the Kospi added 1.3 percent to 2,041.12, advancing for the third successive session.
MUMBAI: India's Sensex rose 1.7 percent to 18,592.33
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times index declined 0.5 percent to 3,847.33, after rising as high as 3,906.16 earlier in the session.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9 percent to 6,738.30, registering gains for the fourth straight day.
with files from other wire services
