Tech shares paced gains as most Asian stock markets surged on Thursday, with Chinese banks and insurance companies also putting in a strong performance.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index tacked on 68.81 points, or 0.8%, to 8,795.55.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong vaulted 319.17 points, or 1.7%, to 19,559.05
Gains in the insurance sector may have been tied to expectations of a market-liberalization announcement by China financial regulators. After the close of trading in Hong Kong, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said that mainland insurers would be allowed to invest in hybrid and convertible bonds.
Shares of Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. were up 3.3%, while China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. climbed 2.3%.
Other triggers for the day’s gains came from a surge in U.S. housing starts in June and from strong technology-sector earnings that pushed stocks on Wall Street higher on Wednesday.
In Japan, shares of Advantest Corp. jumped 6.5%, component maker Renesas Electronics Corp. climbed 7.4% and Hitachi Ltd. added 2.4%.
Tech-sector gains also showed up in other markets, with Samsung Electronics Co. climbing 4% in Seoul. Internet firm Tencent Holdings Ltd. rose 2.5% in Hong Kong.
Telecommunications shares were also strong in Hong Kong after suffering recent declines. China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. rose 5.4%, and rival China Telecom Corp. shot up 6.8%.
After the close of regular trading, China Unicom said in its monthly operating update that it had signed up 3.03 million 3G subscribers in June, lifting its total 3G subscriber base to 57.53 million.
A lift in New York-traded oil prices saw energy-sector firms gain in Asia. Inpex Corp. gained 2.4% and Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. rose 3.1% in Tokyo.
Well-received updates gave an additional boost to some Australian energy-sector firms, with Woodside Petroleum Ltd. jumping 7.5% after it reported higher revenue and lifted annual guidance.
Also in Sydney, Santos Ltd. climbed 5.8% after reporting an 18% rise in second-quarter revenue.
In Sydney, BHP Billiton Ltd. climbed 3.1%.
Iron ore extractor Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. rose 4.8%.
Still, airlines saw some underperformance amid recent oil-price strength, with Qantas Airways Ltd. trading up 1% in Sydney, and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. underperforming the broader Hong Kong market with a 0.8% gain.
In other markets
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index gained 9.99 points, or 0.4%, to 2,424.32
Korea’s Kospi Index advanced 28.05 points, or 1.6%, to 1,822.96
Singapore's Straits Times Index grew 11.75 points, or 0.4%, to 3,028.96
Taiwan’s Taiex Index hiked 99.52 points, or 1.4%, to 7,148.57
New Zealand’s NZX index moved ahead 11.72 points, or 0.3%, to 3,485.78
Australia’s ASX Index leaped 93.09 points, or 2%, to 4,206.69
