Asian markets ended mostly higher Tuesday, with energy-related stocks such as BHP Billiton soaring on an increase in crude-oil prices, while Japanese shares took gains into a third straight session as banks and exporters rose after a strong rally on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed up 300.66 points or 3.34% at 9,306.25 while the benchmark Hang Seng index closed down 281.84 points or 1.84% at 15,041.17.
Banking stocks advanced after the London Interbank Offer Rate, or Libor, which banks charge each other for three-month loans in dollars, fell overnight to 4.06%, the biggest decline in nine months. Mitsubishi UFJ jumped 6.1%, Mizuho Financial climbed 5.2%, and Sumitomo Mitsui advanced 2.6%.
Exporters closed higher, with Canon jumping 5.5%, Honda Motor rising 6.8%, Toyota Motor gaining 5.0%, electronics giant Sony advancing 2.9%, Nikon adding 2.1%, and heavy machinery maker Komatsu climbing 2.6%.
In the tech sector, Advantest surged 7.2%, Fanuc jumped 6.7%, Kyocera climbed 2.9%, and Fujitsu gained 3.6%.
Among oil-related stocks, Inpex Holdings soared 9.6%, Nippon Oil surged 9.1%, and Nippon Mining Holding jumped 11.6%. Trading house Mitsubishi Corp gained 6.2% and Mitsui & Co advanced 7.5%.
CHINA
The Chinese stock market closed lower on profit taking after two sessions of gains. Financials and property stocks led the losers. Investors also exercised caution on concerns about the economy after China's growth slowed to 9% in the third quarter. However, agricultural stocks gained after the National Development and Reform Commission or NDRC said that the government would sharply raise investment in agriculture and accelerate the building of related infrastructure. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 15.48 points or 0.78% at 1,958.53.
The National Bureau of Statistics announced Monday that gross domestic product rose by 9.0% in the third quarter, down from the second quarter's 10.1% expansion rate, and marked the slowest quarterly growth rate since the 7.9% during the SARS-hit second quarter of 2003.
Among banks, Hua Xia Bank fell 0.9% despite projecting a net profit increase of over 90% for the nine-month period. Bank of Beijing dropped 0.6% after the bank said that it is in talks with Beijing Capital Group to buy the latter's stake in ING Capital Life Insurance, a 50-50 joint venture between Beijing Capital Group and ING Group. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China declined 1.7%.
Elsewhere in the financial sector, insurer Ping An Insurance fell 2.8% and brokerage CITIC Securities plunged 3.4%. In the propery space, China Vanke lost 2.4% and Poly Real Estate Group plummeted 3.2%.
Meanwhile, grain producer Heilongjiang Agriculture jumped 4.4% after the NDRC announced plans to raise the minimum purchase price for wheat by up to 15.3% in 2009. Hunan Jinjian Cereals Industry climbed 3.2%.
China Shenhua Energy surged 4.8% as crude oil prices rose by $2.40 to settle at $74.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday. The company said that commercial coal output in the nine months to September rose 17.6% on year to 137.9 million tons. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp slid 2.2%.
Baoshan Iron & Steel fell 2.1% after the company reported cuts to its December prices for major products by up to 1,000 yuan per ton.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan's Taiex closed up 0.2% at 4,942.
Malaysia's KLCI closed up 8.7 points at 918.
Singapore's STI closed down 1% at 1,920.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index closed up 0.9% at 1,440.
South Korea's Kospi fell 1% to 1,196.10.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index finished 3.9% up at 4,302.50.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index added 2.2% to 2,952.02.
with files from other wire services
