Japanese stocks led a broad rally in Asia on Monday, with exporters riding further higher as the yen caught a fresh tailwind on hopes a possible change of government will push greater monetary easing.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 129.04 points, or 1.4%, to 9,153.20
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 103.05 points, or 0.5%, to 21,262.06
Major exporters again led the rally Monday as the dollar briefly touched a seven-month high. The euro closed in on the ¥104 mark.
The yen’s drop came amid expectations that elections slated for December will return opposition leader Shinzo Abe as Japan’s next prime minister. Abe has strongly supported more monetary easing measures, suggesting Saturday he may seek to have the central bank underwrite Japanese infrastructure bonds
Toyota Motor Corp. advanced 1.4%, Hitachi Ltd. added 2.8%, and Canon Inc. jumped 4.5%.
Honda Motor Co. rose 0.4% after a Nikkei business news report Saturday that the firm had raised its Japan sales target by 16% for the fiscal year ending in March.
Airline shares were among outperformers in Sydney, with Qantas Airways Ltd. rising 1.6%, extending gains following the announcement last week of a fresh stock buy-back plan. Qantas rival Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. rose 2.1%.
Shares of Billabong International Ltd. soared 10.1% after the surfwear maker said the head of its U.S. division was considering a buyout of the company.
Over in Seoul, shipbuilders outperformed, rebounding from recent losses, with STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. surging 5%, while Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. added 2.5%.
In Hong Kong, shares of Kunlun Energy Co. climbed 3.1% on news it will become the Hang Seng Index’s 50th constituent, with effect from Dec. 10.
Other energy shares also rallied in Hong Kong, as New York crude-oil prices extended gains to edge closer to $88 a barrel, with PetroChina Co. climbing 0.8% and China Coal Energy Co. adding 1.4%.
On the downside in Hong Kong, Ping An Insurance Group Co. fell 1.9% on news HSBC Holdings PLC is in talks for the possible sale of its 15.6% stake in the Chinese insurer. Shares of HSBC climbed 1% in Hong Kong.
Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. fell 2.8% as the stock began trading without rights to dividend.
CHINA
On the Chinese mainland, property developers declined after official data released Sunday showed that average prices in 70 cities remained unchanged in October from the preceding month, amid worries controls on the sector may not be eased anytime soon.
The Shanghai CSI 300 Composite Index lost 2.26 points, or 0.1%, to 2,174.99
Real-estate names weakened Shanghai trading following the data, as shares of Poly Real Estate Group Co. dropped 1.5% and Cinda Real Estate Co. lost 0.3% in Shanghai. In Shenzhen, China Vanke Co. lost 0.5%.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index inched up 5.30 points, or 0.2%, to 2,950.93
Korea’s Kospi index gained back 17.27 points, or 0.9%, to 1,878.10
Taiwan’s Taiex Index shed 13.77 points, or 0.2%, to 7,130.07
New Zealand’s NZX 50 decreased 3.66 points, or 0.1%, to 3,947.84
Australia’s ASX Index lost 12.40 points, or 0.3%, to 4,336.85
