Asian equity markets on Wednesday closed out a poor month on an upbeat note, as hope for further measures to stimulate the U.S. economy spurred some bargain hunting.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average eked up 1.30 points to 8,955.20
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index vaulted 330.68 points, or 1.6%, to 20,534.80
Losses for August ranged from 2.9% for the Australian benchmark to 11.9% for the South Korean index, in a month that has seen worries about the likely trajectory of U.S. economic growth increase dramatically.
Still, Wednesday’s gains in Asia came amid expectations for further action from the Federal Reserve to support the U.S. economy after the release of the minutes of its latest interest-rate-setting meeting.
Some companies that export to the U.S. were outperforming on Wednesday, particularly in South Korea, with Kia Motors Corp. up 2.5% and Hyundai Motor Co. 3.3% higher.
Nintendo Co. jumped 4.4% and trading house Mitsubishi Corp. gained 1.9% in Tokyo, while computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd. climbed 4% in Hong Kong.
Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd. jumped 4.3% in Hong Kong after reporting first-half earnings late Tuesday. Other property developers also gained ground with China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. up 3.5% and Agile Property Holdings Ltd. up 4.4%.
Sharp gains for oil in New York trading on Tuesday amid hope for an improved U.S. economic performance helped oil giant Cnooc Ltd. to rise 3.5%.
However, the gain in oil prices dragged on some airlines in Shanghai, with Air China Ltd. down 1.4%.
Computer-chip makers were pressured across the region, with Elpida Memory Inc. down 5.3% in Tokyo, while Samsung Electronics Co. underperformed in Seoul with a 0.3% gain.
Chip makers have seen sharp gains recently amid hope that prices for dynamic random access memory have reached a trough. However, Credit Suisse analysts were skeptical, saying "we believe the momentum is not sustainable, and the following weaker pricing condition in September and October will disappoint investors."
On the deal front, Japanese trading house Itochu Corp. advanced 3% after it said that it will buy a 30% stake in Shandong Ruyi Science & Technology Group for $200 million, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.
Shandong Ruyi holds 41% of Japanese apparel firm Renown Inc., which soared 28% after news of the deal
In other markets:
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index regained 5.04 points, or 0.2%, to 2,846.78
Korea’s Kospi Index strengthened 36.29 points, or 1.2%, to 1,880.11
Taiwan’s Taiex Index amassed 95.17 points, or 1.2%, to 7,741.36
Singapore’s Straits Times Index returned from holiday to climb 93.37 points, or 3.3%, to 2,885.26
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index moved ahead 5.34 points, or 0.2%, to 3,323.07
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 27.30 points, or 0.1%, to 4,269.20
