Japanese stocks popped higher Wednesday, keying off gains overnight on Wall Street, with additional support from further weakening in the yen against the U.S. dollar.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index zoomed 307.08 points, or 1.9%, to 16,121.45
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index leaped 283.81 points, or 1.3%, to 22,996.56
Financial issues were among advancers in Japan, with Mizuho Financial Group Inc. up 0.9% and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. higher by 0.8%.
Shares of Seven & I Holdings Co. were also among the Nikkei's best performers, up 4.9% after the 7-Eleven stores operator on Tuesday posted a 32% rise in net profit during the nine-month period between March and November.
In Hong Kong, Chinese tech shares advanced, as one of China's largest Internet companies, Tencent Holdings Ltd. , gained 2.2%, software developer Kingsoft Corp. climbed 3.1%, and game developer NetDragon Websoft rose 1.8%.
Chinese top footwear retailer Belle International Holdings rose 1%, as the company said it has opened nearly 500 new retail outlets in mainland China in 2013 and recorded same-store sales growth of 1.3% for the footwear business.
Meanwhile, oil shares dropped, with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation slipping 0.2% and PetroChina Co. Ltd down 0.1%.
In Australia, energy shares tracked the advance in crude futures, with Origin Energy Ltd. and Oil Search Ltd. adding 1.3% each, while WorleyParsons Ltd. rose 1.2%.
The heavily weighted bank stocks also improved, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia up 0.7%, and Westpac Banking Corp. climbing 0.8%, though most of the blue-chip miners traded lower, with Rio Tinto Ltd. down 0.9% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. off 1.5%.
Likewise, a drop for gold futures in New York helped shove shares of Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. lower by 4.3%, and those of St. Barbara Ltd. down 3.8%
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index pointed upward 3.91 points, or 0.2%, to 2,241.91
Chinese coal miner Shanxi Coal Industry Co. said Wednesday it has received final regulator approval to raise CNY9.8 billion ($1.6 billion U.S.) in an initial public offering ahead of a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, becoming the country's largest public share sale since approvals resumed late last year.
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi index dipped 0.48 points to 1,958.96
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained 43.71 points, or 0.5%, to 8,556.01
The Singapore Straits Times Index recovered 29.77 points, or 1%, to 3,150.65
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 hiked 20.18 points, or 0.4%, to 4,779.81
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 docked 0.94 points to 5,316.05
