Asia markets rose Wednesday as hopes for a fresh round of stimulus to revitalize the U.S. economy buoyed sentiment, though trading volumes were light, suggesting caution in the markets.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index restored 96.44 points, or 1%, to close at 8,752.31
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong raced ahead 102.18 points, or 0.5%, to 19,518.85
Upbeat U.S. housing data and the prospect of more monetary easing by the Federal Reserve helped to drive Wall Street stocks to five-week highs Tuesday.
The U.S. central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee was slated to wrap up a two-day policy meeting later Wednesday, with many analysts expecting the Fed would step in to support the economic recovery through an extension of its "Operation Twist" program.
Ahead of the Fed decision, financial firms gained sharply across Asia. Hong Kong heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC climbed 2.3%, while in Sydney, National Australia Bank Ltd. rose 2.2%.
Daiwa Securities Group Inc. jumped 4.5%, and Nomura Holdings Inc. gained 4% in Tokyo.
Tokyo-listed car makers were also notable performers. Suzuki Motor Corp. added 0.9%, while Honda Motor Co. rose 1.1% after Nomura raised its rating to buy from neutral, citing strong finances and earnings structure.
Shares of Toyota Motor Corp. added 1.2% after an unsourced Nikkei report the firm plans to move more of its car production to plants overseas.
Globally exposed Japanese exporters got an extra boost from the euro’s gains against the yen.
Sony Corp. surged 3.5%, NEC Corp. jumped 2.4%, and Fujitsu Ltd. added 2.7%.
The exporters appeared to shrug off data released ahead of the market open showing Japan’s trade deficit widening by a larger-than-expected margin in May.
On the Australian market, shares of News Corp. gained 0.6% after the company announced a major corporate restructure, and offered to buy Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd. for about $2 billion U.S.
The deal would give News Corp. 50% of Australia’s top pay-TV network Foxtel. Shares of Consolidated Media jumped 9.7%, while Telstra Corp., which owns the other 50% of Foxtel, fell 1.4%.
In other markets
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index deducted 6.01 points, or 0.2%, to 2,552.61
Korea’s Kospi Index was positive by 12.35 points, or 0.7%, to 1,904.12
Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 13.27 points, or 0.5%, to 2,855.68
Taiwan’s Taiex Index muscled up 61.50 points, or 0.9%, to 7,334.63
New Zealand’s NZX index shed 35.59 points, or 1%, to 3,444.79
Australia’s ASX Index regained 9.11 points, or 0.2%, to 4,132.44
