Stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced on Monday to lead most major Asian markets higher, shrugging off a rise in Nymex crude-oil prices and Beijing’s lower target for economic growth over the next five years.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo gained 97.73 points, or 0.9%, to 10, 624.10.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index leaped 325.65 points, or 1.4%, to 23,338.
The broad advance came despite crude-oil futures traded in New York hovering around $100 U.S. a barrel. Some analysts said the selling tied to concern that oil prices would surge further on turmoil in the Mideast and North Africa was overdone.
Ranking among the day’s losers, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.2% on fears that a military drill could provoke fresh aggression from North Korea.
In Hong Kong, shares of heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC climbed 1.5%, while Sun Hung Kai Properties added 1.2% ahead of their 2010 earnings reports.
The Tokyo market reversed early declines to end higher, as relief over the relative resilience of the China market encouraged modest buying interest. Shares of Casio Computer Co. rose 4% and Fanuc added 3.8%.
Mizuho Securities jumped 12% and Mizuho Investors Securities climbed 7% on a Nikkei report that Mizuho Financial Group is mulling acquiring full ownership of the units.
Namco Bandai Holdings added 3.9% on news it will buy back up to 20 million, or 8%, of its own shares by the end of this year.
Bucking the broad trend, NEC Corp. fell 3.4% after slashing its full-year profit forecast.
The Seoul market underperformed regional bourses as investors became nervous that North Korea may launch new attacks as a joint military exercise between South Korea and the U.S. got underway. The drills went ahead amid threats from the North to retaliate against any provocation.
Shares of Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co. lost 4.3% and Korea Life Insurance Co. declined 2.8%, while Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. gave up 3.7%.
In Sydney, energy-sector shares outperformed the market, although the session was also marked by unease over the continuing geopolitical tensions in the Mideast and North Africa. Shares of Woodside Petroleum rose 1.6% and Santos added 2.4%.
In foreign-exchange markets, the U.S. dollar slipped as traders remained cautious as they kept a wary eye on the fluid situation in the Mideast and North Africa amid the continued tick up in oil prices.
The euro was at $1.3823 U.S. against the greenback, compared with $1.3754 U.S. late Friday in New York, and rose to 113.01 yen from ¥112.24. The dollar was at ¥81.75 versus ¥81.65, and at CHF0.9264 against the Swiss franc, compared with CHF0.9287.
CHINA
Chinese and Hong Kong markets looked past China’s downgrade of its medium-term growth forecast, even as Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday the government’s official target for average gross-domestic-product growth over the next five years will be 7% annually, down from a target of 7.5% in the past half decade.
The Shanghai CSI 300 Index added 41.94 points, or 1.3%, to 3,239.56.
Chinese airline stocks rose despite the high crude-oil prices, with Air China rising 1.1% in Shanghai and 3.3% in Hong Kong.
Also ranking among gainers, Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. added 5.6%, Jiangxi Copper Co. rose 1.4% and China Coal Energy Co. added 1.3% in Shanghai.
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index had the day off
Korea’s Kospi Index sidled 24.13 points, or 1.2%, to 1,939.30
Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 14.65 points, or 0.5%, to 3,010.51
New Zealand’s NZX 50 inched forward 6.61 points, or 0.2%, to 3,370.52
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid six points, or 0.1%, to 4,830.50
