Most major Asian markets ended higher Wednesday, as faster-than-expected economic growth spurred South Korean stocks and as Chinese and Hong Kong shares got a reprieve from worries over tighter policy controls on bargain buying.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index sank 62.52 points, or 0.6%, to 10,401.90
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 54.41 points, or 0.2%, to 23,843.20
Japanese stocks went the other way as news of another major vehicle recall hit shares of Toyota Motor Corp., while Eisai Co. tumbled after suffering a setback in the development program of a drug to treat sepsis.
Stocks in Seoul were bolstered by news of solid gross domestic product growth, which rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010 from the preceding three months. GDP slowed from a 0.7% expansion in the July to September period, but topped expectations for a 0.3% rise.
BofA Merrill Lynch economist Sharmila Whelan said the nation’s economy was expected to accelerate on an improvement in domestic demand and exports from the second quarter, and that risks to the brokerage’s 4.1% growth estimate for 2011 are to the upside.
Technology shares and auto makers fronted the market, with Samsung Electronics climbing 2.4%, while Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors each jumped 4.2%.
Those gains more than offset a 0.8% fall in LG Electronics shares after the firm posted a wider-than-expected net loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31 -- the company’s first quarterly net loss in seven quarters.
In Tokyo, Toyota shares dropped 1.9% after the auto maker said it was recalling more than 1.7 million vehicles worldwide to fix problems including those related to fuel systems.
Shares of Eisai tumbled 5% a day after the drug maker said it won’t file marketing applications for its medicine Eritoran by end-March, as clinical trial results didn’t meet the required outcome of lowering the mortality rate in patients suffering from severe sepsis.
Some commodity-related firms were lower in the region on weaker oil and gold prices on Tuesday, with Inpex Corp. dropping 1.3% and trading house Mitsubishi Corp. down 1.7% in Japan.
The euro was fetching $1.3692 U.S. from $1.3682 U.S. late Tuesday in New York, and ¥112.34 from ¥112.58. The dollar was at ¥82.05, compared with ¥82.25
CHINA
Chinese coal mining stocks climbed on expectations that rising demand will push up coal prices after the Lunar New Year holidays.
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index restored 39.78 points, or 1.4%, to 2,978.43.
Shares of Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. rose 2.1% and Guizhou Panjiang Refined Coal jumped 3.6% in Shanghai.
Shares of Datang International Power Generation Co. jumped 4.1% in Shanghai and 3.7% in Hong Kong after the company said it expects its 2010 net profit to rise by more than 50% on-year.
In other markets
Korea’s Kospi Index added 23.79 points, or 1.1%, to 2,110.46
Taiwan’s Taiex Index moved forward 64.20 points, or 0.7%, to 9.055.59
Singapore’s Straits Times Index regrouped 39.63 points, or 1.3%, to 3,220.78
New Zealand’s NZX 50 shaved off 4.35 points, or 0.1%, to 3,354.72
Australian markets had the day off
