Led by blue-chips including Sony Corp, Toyota Motor Corp. and Canon Inc., Japanese stocks generally advanced Tuesday, as the dollar's recent rebound against the yen helped exporters, though regional markets were mixed after a competition probe into the LCD television making industry.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Average rose 109.79 points, or 0.66 percent, to finish at 16,637.78 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 17.33 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,907.33.
Auto makers and other exporters issues led the way as investors took cues from the advance of U.S. markets Monday. Honda Motor Corp. added 1.45 percent and Sony Corp. advanced 2.13 percent.
Stocks in fishery and agriculture sectors also rallied as players welcomed merger plans by Japan's two major seafood makers. Maruha Group Inc. and Nichiro Corp. said Monday they plan to merge their operations through stock swap in October 2007. Maruha jumped 6.40 percent and Nichiro surged 14.15 percent.
Elsewhere:
BANGKOK: Thai shares fell 0.4 percent to 738.20 points in thin trade on losses by energy blue chips.
JAKARTA: Indonesia shares declined 0.3 percent to 1,574.58 points as selling in heavyweight Telkom was offset by gains in Bank Mandiri.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares dropped 1.2 percent to 1,088.42 points in heavy trading, weighed down by profit-taking across all sectors.
MANILA: Philippine shares slipped after rising in the last two sessions. The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index dipped 0.95 point, or 0.03 percent, to 2,840.82, after rising 0.36 percent Monday.
SEOUL: South Korean shares fell, led by LG.Philips LCD and Samsung Electronics, amid uncertainties ahead of the U.S. Fed meeting later Tuesday. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, dropped 13.75 points, or 1 percent, to 1,376.98.
SHANGHAI/SHENZHEN: Chinese shares were lifted by hopes more high-quality firms will float on the domestic market, following news that China Life Insurance Co. plans to sell up to 1.5 billion shares in its domestic offering. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.8 percent to 2,218.95 points. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.2 percent to 508.70.
SINGAPORE: Singapore shares shifted modestly higher, supported by broad gains among blue chips. The Straits Times index advanced 6.58 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,893.81.
TAIPEI: Taiwan shares fell sharply on profit-taking, with the construction sector leading the plunge. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange dropped 153.56 points, or 2 percent, to 7,458.56.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand recovered from early losses to hit a new high. The NZSX-50 benchmark index surged 40.76 points, or 1.0 percent, to 3,928.11.
SYDNEY: Australian shares inched up, after earlier touching a record intraday high, helped by Zinifex's planned merger with Belgium-based Umicore and an asset review for Toll Holdings. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 3.9 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,473.6.
With files from wire services
