The party in Asian equity markets continued Thursday, with indexes in Sydney, Seoul and Shanghai extending their record run, while Hong Kong stocks also finished at a record, led by resources stocks such as China Shenhua Energy.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average closed up 1.6 percent at 17,458.98, after falling as low as 17,154.75 during the session. At Wednesday's closing prices, the Nikkei was the only benchmark in Asia in the red in 2007. The broader Topix index rose 1.2 percent to 1,677.52.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 2 percent to end at a record 29,133.02, driven again by China-related stocks and inspired by a record run for stocks in mainland China. The 43-issue Hang Seng China Enterprises index soared 5.1 percent to 19,218.05.
Shares of Nippon Steel rose 1.3 percent, while Sumitomo Metal Mining climbed 4.1 percent.
Higher crude oil prices lifted energy stocks, with Inpex Holdings Inc. stock rising 3.3 percent and Nippon Oil Corp. shares advancing 2.1 percent.
Shares of Nintendo surged 5.3 percent on hopes that the planned launch of its Wii gaming consoles could improve its sales in and outside Japan.
Shares of Sony Financial Holdings Inc., the insurance unit of Sony Corp., ended 3.8 percent higher on their debut.
In Hong Kong, shares of PetroChina Co. jumped 5.9 percent, ignoring news that billionaire investor Warren Buffett has reduced his stake in the company to 3.1 percent. The China Daily reported that the energy company has discovered a gas field with estimated reserves of 130 billion cubic meters in northwestern China.
ELSEWHERE:
JAKARTA: Indonesia's Jakarta Composite closed 1.6 percent higher at 2,632.27.
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi closed 0.9 percent higher at 2,058.85.
MUMBAI: India's Sensex rose 0.1 percent to 18,680.46, wavering between a low of 18,536.97 and a record intraday high of 18,779.68 during the session, after software major Infosys announced its quarterly earnings report.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times Index added 2 percent to 3,889.75.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted index ended 0.6 percent higher at 9,697.67.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.5 percent at 6,771.90.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 index finished up 0.4 percent at 4,296.61.
with files from other wire services
