Several Asian markets rebounded to end higher Wednesday as investors shrugged off an overnight fall on Wall Street to hunt for bargains.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average ended 0.8 percent higher at 15,608.88, after dropping to 15,365.39 earlier in the day and declining in the previous two sessions. The broader Topix index added 0.7 percent at 1,526.63.
Shares of Toyota gained 0.2 percent and Canon Inc. added 0.9 percent, aided by a weakened yen.
Financials such as Mizuho Financial Group also recovered on bargain buys after dropping earlier in the day in the wake of the Wall Street decline. Mizuho stock added 1.8 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group shares gained 2.7 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended higher for the sixth straight day, cheering the gains in the Japanese and Chinese markets. The gains were led by China-related heavyweights, with shares of refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, jumping 4.3 percent and China Mobile climbing 2.1 percent.
In Hong Kong, HSBC Holdings stock fell 0.8 percent, shares of Kookmin Bank dropped 2 percent in Seoul, National Australia Bank gave up 0.5 percent in Sydney and United Overseas Bank lost 1 percent in late Singapore trading.
ELSEWHERE:
MUMBAI: India's Sensex advanced 0.4 percent to 19,599.65.
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi added 1.1 percent to 1,938.20.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times Index gave up 0.6 percent at 3,548.73.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted index gained 0.3 percent at 8,676.95.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4 percent to 6,508.10.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 index slipped 0.5 percent to 4,034.56.
with files from other wire services
