Most Asian markets climbed Tuesday on cautious buying after European Union nations endorsed a treaty to enforce fiscal discipline, with Japanese stocks rising on the back of some positive economic data and earnings reports.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index recovered 9.46 points, or 0.1%, to 8,802.51
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 230.08 points, or 1.1%, to 20,390.50, after a 300-point-plus loss Monday
Many regional markets changed direction more than once during the session after U.S. markets ended lower on Monday, despite paring sharp early losses.
Several exporters declined in Tokyo as the yen appreciated.
Shares of Toshiba Corp. fell 1.8% ahead of earnings due after the market close, while Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. lost 2.5% and Fujifilm Holdings Corp. tumbled 6.9%.
The losses in Konica and Fujifilm came as Canon Inc. dropped 4.2% after reporting a quarterly profit late Monday that disappointed the market.
But gains for industrial firms helped the Japanese market shake off early losses and end with modest gains. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. rose 1.6% and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. added 2.9%.
Japanese data released Tuesday showed that industrial production jumped by a better-than-expected 4.0% in December, swinging from a 2.7% drop in November.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. rose 1.5% after the firm reported a 20.2% drop in nine-month net profit to ¥411.0 billion ($5.4 billion U.S.) and a slight increase in operating revenue. The firm also stuck to its fiscal-year profit guidance.
Corporate news helped some stock gains in Australia, where supermarket giant Woolworths Ltd. rose 1.4% after reporting a 5% rise in first-half sales.
Woolworths also said that it intends to sell its Dick Smith consumer-electronics business.
Gains also spread to other retailers, with JB Hi-Fi Ltd. surging 6.6%, and David Jones Ltd. advancing 5.7%.
In Taipei, technology shares extended gains from Monday’s session on an improved outlook, with Foxconn Technology Co. climbing 6.9% and Nanya Technology Corp. rising 6.6%.
CHINA
Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rebounded as coal miners and banks clawed back some of the losses from the previous session, while technology shares helped the Taiwanese market extend strong gains on a positive outlook.
The Shanghai CSI 300 inched up 3.54 points, or 0.1%, to 2,464.26
Shares of China Shenhua Energy Co. rose 1.5% in Hong Kong and 0.6% in Shanghai after saying Monday its 2011 coal output rose by a quarter. Shares of rival Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. added 1.5% in Hong Kong and 0.5% in Shanghai.
Some Chinese banks also recovered some losses suffered the previous day, with Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. gaining 2.1% and Bank of China Ltd. adding 1.5% in Hong Kong; in Shanghai, they rose 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively.
But shares of Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. fell 3.8%, Angang Steel Co. plunged 10.9% and Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. dropped 7.6% in Hong Kong after each of the metals firms issued profit warnings; on Chinese bourses, they dropped 0.1%, 4.4% and 0.8%, respectively.
Aluminum Corp., also known as Chalco, said higher electricity costs and falling aluminum prices would cut its 2011 net profit by more than 50%, while Angang warned that it would likely swing to a 2011 net loss as steel product prices fell heavily in the fourth quarter.
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index added another 109.67 points, or 1.5%, on top of a 100-point-plus surge
Monday, to 7,517.08
Korea’s Kospi Index recovered 15.24 points, or 0.8%, to 1,955.79
Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained back 18.40 points, or 0.6%, to 2,906.69
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index doffed 11.02 points, or 0.3%, to 3,296.20
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index subtracted 10.06 points, or 0.2%, to 4,262.68
