Shares in Asia continued their ascent on Tuesday, following a firm lead from Wall Street as concerns faded over the potential damage of Hurricane Irma and as Korean Peninsula tensions took a back seat.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index added another 230.85 points onto yesterday’s rise of more than 250 points, gaining 1.2% today, to 19,776.62, as the U.S. dollar held onto most overnight gains against the yen.
The Hang Seng Index gained 17.11 points, or 0.1%, to 27,972.24
Major exporters finished the session higher: Honda was up 2.2%, Panasonic rose 3.8% and Nintendo added 3.3%
In individual stocks, the Japanese government announced Monday that it would sell $12 billion U.S. of Japan Post Holdings stock. Reaction from fund managers, however, was lukewarm as the company's potential for growth wasn't attractive. Still, the postal company's shares closed up 3.9%.
Meanwhile, Japan's Fast Retailing, clothing line Uniqlo's parent company, outpaced gains made by Japanese retailers to close up 4.5%. The company had been upgraded to "buy" by Deutsche Bank in a Sept. 11 note.
Korean markets were in the green. Blue chips, however, were a mixed picture: Samsung Electronics closed down 0.4%, but SK Hynix was 1.2% higher.
Australian markets improved, with bank stocks driving gains in the broader index. The heavily-weighted financials sub-index was up 1.3% by the end of the session.
CHINA
The CSI 300 recovered 12.28 points, or 0.3%, to 3,837.93
In currencies, China's central bank set the yuan midpoint lower at 6.5277 a dollar, breaking an 11-day rising streak. The People's Bank of China lets the yuan spot rate against the dollar rise or fall up to 2% relative to the midpoint. The move took place after the PBOC unwound some measures taken to support the currency.
The on-shore yuan fell as low as 5.478 before firming slightly to trade at 6.5318 to the U.S. dollar. The offshore yuan was traded at 6.5393 to the U.S. currency.
In corporate news, Spain is looking into Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's European operations as it probes potential money laundering. Authorities are reportedly looking at the bank's ties with several Chinese clients. Shares of the bank listed on the mainland reversed earlier losses to close up 0.7%while Hong Kong-listed shares were off 0.2%
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index regained 38.19 points, or 0.4%, to 10,610.35
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 6.39 points, or 0.3%, to 2,365.47
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index recouped 7.18 points, or 0.2%, to 3,235.69
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dropped 11.34 points, or 0.1%, to 7,840.14
In Australia, the ASX 200 advanced 33.29 points, or 0.6%, to 5,746.44
