Japanese stocks climbed Wednesday on a weakened yen and a positive lead from Wall Street, while Australian shares were weighed as heavyweight Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell after posting results.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 183.16 points, or 1.3%, to 14,050.16, helped by strong buying activity in late afternoon trade after the benchmark dipped into losses earlier in the day.
Hong Kong markets were closed for a storm.
Steel and automobile shares advanced in Tokyo as the U.S. dollar rose above the ¥98-level.
JFE Holdings Inc. rose 3%, and Kobe Steel Ltd. added 3.7%, while Mazda Motor Corp. advanced 2.1%.
The stock performance in Asia followed a higher finish on Wall Street Tuesday, where U.S. markets got support from billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s disclosure that he held a sizable stake in Apple Inc., as well as data showing U.S. retail sales grew for a third straight month in July.
In Sydney, shares of Commonwealth Bank fell 1.2%, even as the lender registered a record profit for the year ended June 30 and increased its dividend payout.
Other banks gained, however, after the strong results. National Australia Bank Ltd. rose 0.8%, while Westpac Banking Corp. advanced 1.1%.
Mining major Rio Tinto Ltd. fell 1.1% as the stock traded without rights to a dividend.
CHINA
Financials and construction-related stocks were among decliners in Shanghai, giving back some recent gains.
The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 subtracted 9.99 points, or 0.4%, to 2,349.08
Anhui Conch Cement Co. fell 1.7%, developer Gemdale Corp. lost 0.7% and Citic Securities Co. lost 0.9%.
But gains in automobile shares helped support the market. SAIC Motor Corp jumped 2.9%, and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. climbed 1.8% in Shanghai afternoon trading.
The rise in SAIC shares came after news that Huayu Automotive Systems Co., of which the automobile major owns 60%, had agreed to buy Visteon Corp.’s 50% stake in their joint venture for $1.25 billion U.S. in cash
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index slid 34.94 points, or 0.4%, to 7,951.33
The Singapore Straits Times was up 4.54 points, or 0.1%, to 3,248.66
Korea’s Kospi Index moved higher 10.88 points, or 0.6%, to 1,923.91
In New Zealand, the Exchange 50 Gross Index edged lower 1.23 points, to 4,524.59
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 erased 0.28 points to 5,157.42
