Most Asian markets rose Wednesday as U.S. dollar weakness and a rebound in many commodities encouraged investors to temporarily look beyond Greece’s debt problems and soft U.S. economic data to snap up stocks that have lost ground recently.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average prospered 95.06 points, or 1%, to 9,662.08
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 110.06 points, or 0.5%, to 23,011.10.
Japanese stocks advanced on the back of banks and utilities. Several resource stocks sparkled in the region, supporting Australian shares in particular after a Moody’s downgrade of the nation’s four largest banks weighed on the sector in afternoon trading.
The day’s gains came despite Tuesday’s weakness on Wall Street. They were aided by higher U.S. index futures and the U.S. dollar’s weakness, which analysts often view as a signal of improved investor sentiment.
In Tokyo, banks and utility stocks climbed after their recent underperformance.
Among lenders, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. rose 3.5%, while Mizuho Financial Group Inc. tacked on 3.2% on news Japan’s second biggest bank by assets is considering a merger of its retail and wholesale units.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. jumped 2.4%, ending a four-day selloff.
Dell Inc.’s first-quarter earnings and forecasts buoyed some of the region’s tech firms, spurring Toshiba Corp. up 2.1% and Fujitsu Ltd. up 1.4% in Tokyo.
Several resource sector stocks gained as commodities priced in the U.S. dollar gained in Asian trading hours on the greenback’s weakness against major currencies. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance against six major global currencies, was recently 0.2% lower at 75.26.
Shares of Inpex Corp. rose 3% in Tokyo; BHP Billiton Ltd. added 0.3% and Santos Ltd. rose 1.3% in Sydney; PetroChina Co. rose 1% and Jiangxi Copper Co. rose 2.1% in Hong Kong.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia shed 0.2% and Westpac Bank Corp. dropped 0.1%, reversing gains after Moody’s downgrade.
In foreign exchange markets, the euro rose against the U.S. dollar and its Asian rivals, supported by expectations of further monetary policy tightening from the European Central Bank.
Weaker U.S. data on Tuesday, including housing starts, also bolstered the single currency.
The euro was fetching $1.4259 U.S. from $1.4237 U.S. late in New York trade Tuesday, and 115.55 yen from ¥115.90. The dollar also fell to ¥81.05 from ¥81.43
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index rallied 23.35 points, or 0.8%, to 3,139.38
Taiwan’s Taiex Index popped 60.75 points, or 0.7%, to 8,944.84
Korea’s Kospi index added 33.37 points, or 1.6%, to 2,135.78
Singapore’s Straits Times Index returned from holiday to eke up 4.73 points, or 0.2%, to 3,141.21
New Zealand’s NZX 50 inched higher by 1.50 points to 3,559.55
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 picked up 9.80 points, or 0.2%, to 4,693.70
