Most Asian stocks rose Thursday after U.S. President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner expressed optimism about a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff," sparking a solid rebound on Wall Street.
The Nikkei 225 Index in Japan leaped 92.53 points, or 1%, to 9,400.88
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index hiked 213.91 points, or 1%, to 21,922.89
The broad gains came after Obama said he hoped to have a deal by Christmas to avoid the more than $600 billion U.S. of tax hikes and spending cuts kick in from January, which investors worry will drag the U.S. economy into a recession. Rep. Boehner also told reporters he was optimistic Republicans could forge an agreement with the White House.
Japanese exporters got a boost as the dollar reclaimed the ¥82 level. Hitachi Ltd. rose 2.9%, and Advantest Corp. added 3.4%.
Sharp Corp. jumped 3.1% on a Dow Jones Newswires report it was in talks with U.S. companies about a capital injection. The firm is talking to Dell Inc. Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc.
Auto makers also advanced despite news that industry retail sales for October fell in Japan from the year-earlier month, breaking a string of modest increases since December.
Among the three top auto makers, all of which posted year-on-year declines, shares of Toyota Motor Corp. rose 1.2%, Honda Motor Co. advanced 2% and Nissan Motor Co. climbed 2.5%.
Resource sector shares, which were hit hard Wednesday, when U.S. austerity concerns boosted the dollar and pressured metal prices, broadly rebounded during the session.
In Tokyo, steel maker JFE Holdings Ltd. climbed 3.5% and Kobe Steel Ltd. soared 6.9%; in Sydney, uranium extractor Paladin Energy Ltd. rallied 5.4% and Murchison Metals Ltd. climbed 2.5%; and Angang Steel Co. rose 1.4% and Jiangxi Copper Co. advanced 0.6% in Hong Kong.
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. added 0.9% in Sydney after outlining cuts to capital expenditure, and offering guarded optimism over Chinese ore demand.
CHINA
Mainland Chinese shares declined for a fourth straight session, however, dropping further toward their lowest level in nearly four years, with brokerages and commodity companies pacing the losses.
The Shanghai CSI 300 Composite Index fell 13.49 points, or 0.6%, to 2,115.68
Shares of brokerages suffered heavy losses on mainland Chinese bourses, helping erase gains recorded earlier in the day. Reuters cited a Chinese media report as saying that there has been discussion by key industry players to cut broker commission fees.
Shares of Sinolink Securities Co. plunged by the day’s 10% limit, Haitong Securities Co. lost 5.9% and Citic Securities Co. fell 4.4% in Shanghai; in Shenzhen, Changjiang Securities Co. lost 8.6% and Hong Yuan Securities Co. tumbled 9.1%.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index zoomed 34.13 points, or 1.1%, to 3,045.90
Korea’s Kospi index recovered 22.07 points, or 1.2%, to 1,934.85
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained 68.62 points, or 0.9%, to 7,503.55
New Zealand’s NZX 50 eked ahead 4.62 points, or 0.1%, to 4,016.77
Australia’s ASX Index tacked on 30.42 points, or 0.7%, to 4,477.73
