Asia stocks gained Thursday, with sentiment buoyed by assurances from France and Germany that Europe will stand behind Greece as the nation struggles to cut its debt pile.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average grew 150.29 points, or 1.8%, to close at 8,668.86
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index leaped 136.06 points, or 0.7%, to 19,181.50, paring early gains, weighed down by a 17.6% slide for apparel exporter Esprit Holdings Ltd after the firm posted a steep profit drop.
The gains in Asia followed reports that French and German leaders have voiced support to help Greece remain in the euro zone.
On a conference call, Greece’s prime minister reportedly said that the country is determined to meet all its obligations and that recent austerity measures will help Athens reach its 2011-2012 fiscal targets.
Ongoing concerns about fallout from Europe to the Asian economy have seen weekly and monthly losses for most Asian markets, but companies sensitive to economic growth trends gained in Asia on Thursday.
Hyundai Motor Co. jumped 3.4% and Kia Motors Corp. rose 2,4% in South Korea, while Honda Motor Co. gained 4% in Tokyo.
Japanese chip maker Elpida Memory Inc. umped 5% after a report that in the Nikkei business daily that the firm will shift around 40% of its domestic output capacity to Taiwan.
According to the report, Elpida will shift production to better compete with larger South Korean rivals Samsung Electronics Co., up 2.4% in Thursday trade, and Hynix Semiconductor Inc., up 6.3%, which are benefiting from a weak Korean won.
Commodity-sector firms, also sensitive to the growth outlook, climbed Thursday, with Inpex Corp. up 2.2% in Tokyo, and BHP Billiton Ltd. up 2% in Sydney.
As the gloom from Europe lifted a bit, many financials were also higher as Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group Inc. rose 1.8%, and Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp. jumped 4.5% in Hong Kong.
Chinese banks, also subject to speculation of policy moves from the People’s Bank of China, gained back some ground in Hong Kong, with China Construction Bank Corp. up 0.9% and China Citic Bank Corp. up 0.3%.
However, Esprit shares dived in Hong Kong after the firm posted a steep drop in fiscal-year net profit to HK$79 million, from HK$4.2 billion in the year-ago period after taking costs to refocus its business.
Against a challenging macro environment, the group decided to divest operations in North America, exit retail operations in Spain, Denmark and Sweden and close down certain additional non-profitable stores worldwide, it said.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index sliced off 4.06 points, or 0.2%, to 2,729.05
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained back 157.21 points, or 2.2%, to 7,385.68
Korea’s Kospi Index tacked on 24.92 points, or 1.4%, to 1,774.08
Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 26.60 points, or 1%, to 2,765.95
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index dipped 4.20 points, or 0.1%, to 3,272.50
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index strengthened 65.90 points, or 1.7%, to 4,071.70
