Asian stocks rose, after jobs data spurred the biggest two-day rally for U.S. equities since October.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index hiked 255.93 points, or 1.8%, to 14,718.34
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slid 57.59 points, or 0.3%, to 21,579.26
Japanese exporters advanced. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest carmaker, climbed 1.6% to pace gains among Japanese exporters.
Canon Inc., the world’s biggest camera maker, added 1% to 3,010 yen. Nintendo Co., the maker of Wii video-game consoles, jumped 5.4% to 12,105 yen.
Olympus Corp. jumped 7.2% to 3,335 yen in Tokyo, its biggest rally since May 2013. The maker of cameras and endoscopes reported third-quarter operating profit of 21.4 billion yen, compared with the average estimate of 19.2 billion yen from five analysts compiled by Bloomberg.
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-largest mining company, advanced 1.6% in Sydney.
Genting Singapore Plc and partner Landing International Development Ltd. rose after announcing plans to build a casino on South Korea’s Jeju island.
BYD Co., the automaker backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., jumped 4.6% to HK$39.95 in Hong Kong after China’s government said it will continue incentives for electric vehicles beyond 2015.
Asahi Glass Co. slid 6.7% to 544 yen in Tokyo, its lowest price since November 2012. The supplier of glass for the construction and automotive industries forecast full-year earnings that missed estimates.
Japan’s current-account deficit widened to a record in December, while China’s central bank signaled volatility in money-market interest rates will persist and borrowing costs will rise.
Japan’s 638.6 billion yen ($6.3 billion U.S.) current-account shortfall surpassed November’s gap of 592.8 billion yen, the finance ministry said in Tokyo today.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen will deliver her first semi-annual monetary testimony tomorrow.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 Index gained 55.05 points, or 2.5%, to 2,267.53
China’s central bank said on Feb. 8 that reasonable volatility in money-market interest rates must be tolerated as it manages liquidity in the country’s financial system to rein in credit growth and speculative lending.
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index nicked higher 4.6o points, or 0.1%, to 8,391.95
Singapore’s Straits Times Index moved higher 4.06 points, or 0.1%, to 3,017.20
Korea’s Kospi Index eked up 0.80 points to 1,923.30
The New Zealand Exchange 50 index subsided 7.73 points, or 0.2%, to 4,833.06
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 moved forward 55.62 points, or 1.1%, to 5,222.15
