Asian markets ended mostly higher Wednesday, as investors saw Berkshire Hathaway's decision to invest in Goldman Sachs amid the ongoing financial crisis as a show of confidence in the troubled investment bank.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 24.44 points, or 0.2%, at 12115.03 while the benchmark Hang Seng index advanced 89.14 points or 0.47% to 18,961.99.
On the economic front, data from a joint survey released by the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Office showed that large Japanese companies are less pessimistic about the economy in the third quarter than they were in the preceding quarter. The index that measures Japanese all-industry business conditions in the third quarter was at minus 10.2%, showing an improvement from the minus 15.2% reading in the second quarter.
In the financial sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 1.2%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group jumped 4.2%, and top brokerage Nomura Holdings surged 5.2%. Mizuho Financial Group lost 0.9% and Shinsei Bank plunged 5.4% after it cut its profit outlook for the full-year by 81% on Monday due to its exposure to collapsed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers and write-downs on asset-backed securities.
Among exporters, Honda fell 2.0%, Toyota declined 1.2%, electronics giant Sony dropped 2.6%, heavy machinery maker Komatsu trimmed earlier losses to finish 0.3% lower, and Cannon shed 3.0%, while Nikon added 0.7%.
In the tech sector, Advantest fell 2.9%, Fanuc lost 3.1% and Matsushita Electrical Industrial dropped 2.0%, while Kyocera advanced 2.4%. Among oil-related stocks, Inpex Holdings gave away 2.5%, Nippon Oil declined 1.0% and Nippon Mining Holding shed 2.1%.
The Chinese market closed higher, rebounding in late trade on the back of gains in market heavyweight Unicom. Brokerages also posted sharp gains amid hopes that margin trading would be launched soon, but banks remained weak despite share purchases in the three top institutions by a unit of sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed up 15.30 points or 0.70% at 2,216.81, reversing steep losses in early trade.
China United Telecommunications jumped 7.7% and index heavyweight PetroChina trimmed losses to finish just 0.2% lower. Among brokerages, Pacific Securities surged 9.6%, extending its 10% jump on Tuesday, while CITIC Securities gained 4.1%.
In the banking sector, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 1.4%, ending a three-day winning streak, China Construction Bank dropped 1.7% and Bank of China lost 1.1%.
Refiner China Petroleum & Chemical or Sinopec advanced 1.2%. Meanwhile, China Coal Energy rose 2.3% after the company announced that its parent bought back 4.05 million shares in Shanghai. China Shenhua Energy climbed 1.5%.
Top liquor maker Kweichow Moutai gained 5.1% after the company denied market rumors of sodium nitrite contamination in its products.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan's Taiex closed down 0.8% at 6,132.
Singapore's STI closed flat at 2,477.
Malaysia's KLCI closed up 0.2% at 1,028.
South Korea's Kospi added 1% to 1,495.98.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index rose 1% to 3,259.68.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.2% to 4,981.90.
with files from other wire services
