Asian stock markets moved higher on Tuesday as upbeat economic data from the U.S. and Europe lifted investor confidence ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index regained 125.72 points, or 0.8%, to 15,278.63
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 45.43 points, or 0.2%, to 23,069.23
The region took its lead from strong overnight gains in the U.S. and Europe, as stocks responded well to signs of improvement in the global economy. In Europe, markets surged after preliminary data showed that manufacturing in the euro-zone grew at its fastest rate in December since May 2011.
The European data followed figures for China from earlier on Monday, which showed slowing growth in factory activity in Asia’s largest economy in December — a contributor to the region’s declines in the previous session.
In the U.S., industrial production in November exceeded its pre-recession peak, prompting a 0.8% climb in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The data came just before the Federal Reserve starts its much-anticipated policy meeting on Tuesday, where there are some expectations that the central bank could start to withdraw its stimulus when it concludes on Wednesday — a process that has become known as tapering.
The positive sentiment in Asia was evident in the yen. Although the U.S. dollar lost 0.2% overnight against its Japanese counterpart, it did manage to climb back above the ¥103 mark early in session, providing a positive start for Japanese stocks.
The positive effect of the weaker yen softened slightly as the dollar retreated, but the Nikkei still managed a gain, while the yen traded at ¥102.97 to the U.S. dollar by late afternoon.
Among the strongest large-cap gainers in Japan were apparel company Fast Retailing Co., which was up 1.5%, and telecommunications giant SoftBank Corp., which gained 1.8%.
In Australia, shares in Envestra Ltd., a gas utility company, gained 4.4% after APA Group moved to buy the 77% of the company it doesn't already own for $1.81 billion U.S. APA Group, which operates energy infrastructure including natural gas pipelines in Australia, was trading down 3.6%.
The Australian dollar rose after minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s December meeting showed that the central bank was prudent to keep rates steady to gauge the effect of previous cuts, though it did say that the Australian dollar was what it called "uncomfortably high".
The Aussie moved as high as 89.57 U.S. cents from 89.33 U.S. cents before the minutes were released, and was last at 89.39 U.S. cents.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index shed 11.54 points, or 0.5%, to 2,356.38
Korea’s Kospi Index inched up 4.59 points, or 0.2%, to 1,965.34
Taiwan’s Taiex Index recovered 39.06 points, or 0.5%, to 8,352.93
The Singapore Straits Times Index gained 13.80 points, or 0.5%, to 3,067.57
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 subtracted 7.59 points, or 0.2%, to 4,728.02
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 13.56 points, or 0.3%, to 5,103.19
