Asian shares ended higher Tuesday as eased tensions on the Korean peninsula helped regional markets stage a rally, with Chinese and Japanese shares in the lead.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index zoomed higher by 154.12 points, or 1.5%, to 10,370.50
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 354.78 points, or 1.6%, to 22,993.90
Most regional stocks rebounded from the previous day’s losses, reflecting relief that South Korean artillery tests Monday didn’t provoke a military response from Pyongyang.
Shinyoung Securities analyst Im Tae-geun said sentiment in the local market was also buoyed by expectations for further gains next year.
Steelmakers paced the gains in Seoul, with Posco rising 5.1% and Hyundai Steel Co. adding 7.6% on an improved sales outlook for next year.
Hyundai Group affiliate Hyundai Merchant Marine rose 0.9% on news that the group’s bid to buy a controlling stake in Hyundai Engineering & Construction had been scrapped by the construction firm’s creditors.
Investors had been fretting about the financial burden that the 5.51-trillion-won ($4.78-billion U.S.) bid would impose on the group and its affiliates. Hyundai Engineering advanced 2.1%.
The cooling of tensions on the Korean peninsula also underpinned Tokyo stocks, where exporters were led by a 2.7% rise in Sony Corp. shares, while Nikon Corp. added 2.8%.
Australian shares were led higher by materials stocks, with BHP Billiton rising 1.3% and Rio Tinto adding 1.5%.
Lend Lease Group rose 5.9% after the firm said it has agreed to buy Valemus Australia from German builder Bilfinger Berger SE for 960 million Australian dollars ($950 million U.S).
Bucking the broader market, Energy Resources tumbled 9.3% after the uranium miner downgraded its reserves and forecast a sharp fall in profit due to lower production volumes caused by lower ore grades.
The euro rose on comments by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and was fetching $1.3153 U.S. against $1.3120 U.S. late Monday in New York, and 110.14 yen versus 109.90 yen.
CHINA
Sentiment also got a boost on Wang's comments that China backed European officials’ efforts to stabilize global markets following the European debt crisis. The remarks lifted risk currencies such as the euro and the Australian dollar.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index picked up 70.85 points, or 2.2%, to 3,249.51
Chinese coal shares rose sharply in Shanghai and Hong Kong on hopes of winter demand fueling strong sales.
China Coal Energy Co added 1.7% and Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. rose 3.2% in Hong Kong; in Shanghai, the stocks rose 3.7% and 2.8%, respectively.
China Shenhua Energy Co., the country’s largest listed coal producer by output, jumped 6% in Shanghai and 3.7% in Hong Kong after saying it will buy 8.7 billion yuan ($1.32 billion U.S.) of assets from its parent company.
In other markets
Taiwan’s Taiex Index recovered 59.07 points, or 0.7%, to 8,827.79
Singapore’s Straits Times Index stepped ahead 6.89 points, or 0.2%, to 3,139.85
Korea’s Kospi Index advanced 16.81 points, or 0.8%, to 2,037.09
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index moved higher 19.14 points, or 0.6%, to 3,319.10
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 35.30 points, or 0.8%, to 4,771.90
