Australia outperformed Asian stock markets Tuesday, with major resource shares and banks gaining in Sydney after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates steady, while Japan was supported by a weaker yen.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 123.72 points, or 2.6%, to 4,834, its best daily performance since October 2011 — bouncing back from a sharp 1.9% decline on Monday brought about by weak manufacturing data from China.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 246.24 points, or 1.8%, to 14,098.74
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index faded 144.64 points, or 0.7%, to 20,658.65
The Australian dollar fell to 92.08 U.S. cents from 92.24 U.S. cents after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates unchanged at 2.75%. Expectations for a rate cut this month were low, though the market is expecting another cut before the end of the year.
The Reserve Bank of Australia said that the local currency remains high despite its recent depreciation, having dropped around 10% against its U.S. counterpart since the beginning of May.
Miners led the recovery after commodity prices rose overnight: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were up 3.7% and 2.6% respectively.
Banks also staged a decent rebound after Monday’s selloff, with Australia & New Zealand Banking Group up 2.4% and Commonwealth Bank of Australia 2% higher.
Markets in Hong Kong missed China’s manufacturing data, which hit a nine-month low, due to a public holiday on Monday. As a result, the Hang Seng Index underperformed other regional markets — falling 0.7% to 20658.65.
PetroChina Co. shot 6.7% higher in Hong Kong after China’s top planner announced an increase on gas prices that will come into effect on July 10.
Exporters in Tokyo were buoyed by the softer currency: Toyota Motor Corp. added 2.8% and Mazda Motor Corp. was up 4.4%.
In other markets;
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 added 8.66 points, or 0.4%, to 2,221.98
Taiwan’s Taiex Index erased 20.14 points, or 0.3%, to 8.015.86
Singapore’s Straits Times Index gathered 32.39 points, or 1%, to 3,173.32
Korea’s Kospi Index docked 0.71 points to 1,855.02
In New Zealand, the Exchange 50 Gross Index advanced 40.20 points, or 0.9%, to 4,458.25
