Most Asian markets posted solid gains after a string of recent losses on Wednesday, with technology shares buoyed by strong U.S. earnings reports from Intel Corp. and resource stocks climbing as commodity prices pulled ahead.
The Nikkei 225 Index reacquired 165.79 points, or 1.8%, to 9,606.82
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index regained 375.48 points, or 1.6%, to 23,896.10
Economic data showing an improvement in U.S. housing starts and Tuesday’s recovery on Wall Street and in European markets also helped encourage the advance, easing worries after Standard & Poor’s downgrade of its outlook on U.S. credit ratings on Monday rattled markets.
Technology shares around the region rose after Intel’s first-quarter results and second-quarter guidance blew past estimates; Intel shares gained 4.7% in after-hours trade. International Business Machines Corp. also posted stronger-than-expected results.
Shares of heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co jumped 4.7% and were closely followed by Hynix Semiconductor Inc., which rose 4.6% in Seoul. In Tokyo, Intel supplier Ibiden Co. tacked on 6%.
Inotera Memories Inc. climbed 3.8% and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. added 2.5% in Taipei.
Shares of Toshiba Corp. rose 3.7% after Japanese newspaper, The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, reported Apple Inc. has effectively picked the company as its only Japanese supplier of liquid crystal panels for its iPhone, abandoning earlier plans to also invest at Sharp Corp. facilities.
Sharp’s shares rose 0.7% in the upbeat market, despite the report.
Bucking the sector’s rise, Taiwan-listed Acer Inc. tumbled 6.9% after the company Tuesday cut its second-quarter personal computer shipment guidance to a 10% on-quarter decline; it previously expected shipments to remain flat.
A slew of brokers aggressively cut their view on the stock Tuesday, with JPMorgan downgrading the stock to underweight from neutral.
South Korean stocks were also supported by steelmakers, with Posco rising 2.7% on expectations it will raise prices of major products soon. Rival Hyundai Steel Co. advanced 2.8%.
LG Chem Ltd. jumped 5.6% after its first-quarter net profit surged 27% on-year.
Strength in the resources sector underpinned shares in Australia and Hong Kong.
The advance came even as UBS Investment Research downgraded the energy and materials sectors, saying that "while the fundamental story remains intact for resources, we see limited near-term upside given current price levels and recent outperformance."
In Sydney, BHP Billiton Ltd. added 1.2% after reporting record quarterly iron-ore production and after copper and aluminum prices rose in London. Rio Tinto Ltd. added 1.2%.
Santos Ltd. shares shrugged off a production downgrade to rise 2.4%, while peer Woodside Petroleum Ltd. added 1.2%, after Nymex crude jumped 1% Tuesday on U.S. dollar weakness and lingering Middle East political tensions.
In Hong Kong, Cnooc Ltd. rose 3% and PetroChina Co. jumped 2.5%, while Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. added 2.5%.
Shares of heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC rose 1.6% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal-weight.
In Wellington, Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. jumped 4.9% on news the company and Vodafone New Zealand will jointly build a broadband network for rural New Zealand, as part of the government’s rural broadband initiative.
In currency trading, the euro extended Tuesday’s gains against the U.S. dollar and the yen as risk appetite improved. The single currency was fetching $1.4433 U.S. from $1.4334 U.S. late Tuesday in New York, and 119.53 yen from ¥118.37. The dollar was at ¥82.84, compared with ¥82.58.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index slid but 0.05 points to 3,295.76
Korea’s Kospi Index picked up 47.23 points, or 2.2%, to 2,169.91
Taiwan’s Taiex Index grew 174.73 points, or 2%, to 8,813.28
Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 40.43 points, or 1.3%, to 3,165.80
New Zealand’s NZX 50 moved northward 32.82 points, or 1%, to 3,472.80
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 65.70 points, or 1.4%, to 4,859.
