Japanese stocks led gains in Asia on Thursday, with exporters among the best performers, alongside news of a weaker yen and expectations of additional support for asset prices from the Bank of Japan. Hong Kong stocks extended their winning streak to a 10th straight session.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 100.90 points, or 1.1%, to 9,055.20, after the dollar moved back over 80 yen to a high not seen since late June.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 46.45 points, or 0.2%, to 21,810.23
Telecom KDDI Corp. jumped 5.5% in Tokyo while trading house Sumitomo Corp. rose 1.4%, after a Nikkei news report that the firms plan to combine their cable-television holdings into a single unit.
The yen declined against the dollar after a Nikkei report in the afternoon that the Bank of Japan is likely to take more easing steps at its next policy meeting on Oct. 30.
The Japanese central bank will likely boost the size of its asset-purchase program to 90 trillion, or about 10 trillion yen more than its previous target, according to the Japanese newspaper, which didn’t say where it got the information. In September the BOJ boosted the target for its asset-purchase program by ¥10 trillion, bringing the current size of the program to ¥80 trillion.
Exporters picking up on the Japanese currency weakness included Mitsubishi Motors Corp., up 4.4%, and Casio Computer Co., up 3.4%.
Telecoms gained in Sydney, with heavyweight Telstra Corp ending the session 1% higher.
In South Korean trading, Hyundai Motor Co. staged a turnaround from early weakness after reporting a slightly stronger-than-expected 13% increase in third-quarter net profit. The shares gained 3.9%.
Casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd. rose 2.5% in Hong Kong, with the market apparently accepting of the company’s 4.3% revenue drop in the last quarter, as announced by parent Wynn Resorts Ltd.
Sands China Ltd. rose 3.5%, while Galaxy Entertainment rallied 3.6% after the firm said Thursday its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization jumped 46% from a year earlier.
Oil giant CNOOC Ltd. jumped 1.4% in Hong Kong after it reported a 5.2% rise in third-quarter revenue to $7.7 billion U.S. and lifted its 2012 oil-and-gas-output target.
But some other commodity-related firms listed in Hong Kong came under selling pressure, with Aluminum Corp. of China falling 0.2% and China Coal Energy Co. down 0.5%.
Japan’s Sharp Corp. couldn’t join in with export-sector gains, dropping 4.2% after a report in the Nikkei that the firm is bracing for a ¥400 billion (about $5 billion) half-year net loss, almost double what the company projected in August.
As for Japanese firms due to report after the close, investors offered little optimism. Robotics firm Fanuc Corp. lost 0.5% ahead of its earnings, while technology concern Advantest Corp. declined 1%.
Canon Inc. ended 2.2% higher ahead of its quarterly earnings announcement. After the close of trading, the Tokyo-based bellwether for major exporters said its net income fell 35.6% in the fiscal third quarter from a year earlier.
Over in Sydney, lender Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. fell 0.9% after it warned it expects increasingly challenging trading conditions.
The outlook came as the bank reported a 6% rise in first-half net profit after tax to 5.7 billion Australian dollars ($5.9 billion) Thursday, with the full-year result at a record, while it also lifted its final dividend payment by 4%.
In other Hong Kong trading, Ping An Insurance, the country’s second largest life insurer, ended 1.3% down in Hong Kong.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 Composite Index dipped 16.54 points, or 0.7%, to 2,291.24
In Shanghai, Dongfeng Automobile Co. dropped 5.9% while Poly Real Estate Group Co. fell 2.4% to weigh on the market.
In other markets
The Singapore Straits Times Index recovered 12.78 points, or 0.4%, to 3,057.21
Korea’s Kospi index took on 10.54 points, or 0.6%, to 1,924.50
Taiwan’s Taiex Index shed 52.80 points, or 0.7%, to 7,262.08
The NZX 50 Index subtracted 10.96 points, or 0.3%, to 3,990.49
Australia’s ASX Index eked ahead 4.68 points, or 0.1%, to 4,510.50
