Markets in Asia stabilized Wednesday with bonds recovering and stocks mostly flattish, as recent pressure from a global bond selloff subsided.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index hiked 139.88 points, or 0.7%, to close Wednesday at 19,764.72, with losses limited by several decent earnings reports. Any downside is supported by respectable Japanese earnings results and expectations for the Bank of Japan stock buying, according to one expert.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index lost another 157.90 points, or 0.6%, to 27,249.28
NGK Insulators Ltd. rose 6.2% to ¥2,860 after the ceramics company reported a 54% increase in net profit to ¥41.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March and projected a further 16% growth this fiscal year.
Earlier, Japan posted its biggest current-account surplus in seven years, as a jump in exports in March put the balance back on a level last seen regularly before the global financial crisis.
Asia’s recovery came after a selloff Tuesday of stocks in India and Thailand, currencies in Southeast Asia and bonds broadly.
Yields on Japanese government bonds were stable after jumping to a two-month high Tuesday.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 settled 28.96 points, or 0.6%, to 4,719.04, as the rally following Sunday’s rate cut by China’s central bank slowed down. The benchmark is up more than 4% so far this week.
China Resources Land was down 6.3% after the real-estate company announced it is raising HK$10.1 billion ($1.3 billion U.S.) via share placement. Fosun International was off 2.4% after the Shanghai conglomerate announced a plan to raise about HK$9.3 billion from a share sale.
During the trading day, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed industrial output was up 5.9% in April from a year earlier, accelerating from a 5.6% pace in March, an upturn that economists said reflects government efforts to give the sluggish economy a boost.
After Hong Kong’s close, data from People’s Bank of China showed Chinese financial institutions issued 707.9 billion yuan ($114 billion U.S.) worth of new yuan loans in April, down from 1.18 trillion yuan in March and below economists’ expectations.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index recovered 17.39 points, or 0.8%, to 2,114.16
In Taiwan, the Taiex gained 43.38 points, or 0.5%, to 9,724.11
In Singapore, the Straits Times index sprang back up 10.84 points, or 0.3%, to 3,453.12
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 regained 5.53 points, or 0.1%, to 5,751.76
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 recovered 40.41 points, or 0.7%, to 5,715.15
