Asian shares were mostly a little higher Thursday after a flat finish for Wall Street, with stocks like Toyota Motor and Honda Motor rising in Tokyo as a weaker yen boosted their export competitiveness.
Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 23.21 points, or 0.3%, at 7,557.65.
The Hang Seng Index gained 7.36 points, or 0.06%, to 13,023.36.
With no strong lead from U.S. markets, investors continued to focus on the outlook for the U.S. and global economy - and keep a weather eye on the fading fortunes of Eastern European banks.
UBS analysts said President Barack Obama's plan unveiled Wednesday to shore up the housing sector in the U.S. was a welcome development, but conceded it would take time to have an effect.
Semiconductor stocks fell in Tokyo though, after data from the Semiconductor Equipment Association showed global orders for Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment dropped 80.1% in January from a year earlier, with a book-to-bill ratio of 0.55, from 0.70 in December.
Toyota Motor Corp., which makes 37% of its sales in North America, climbed 2% in Tokyo as the yen yesterday fell to near its lowest this year against the dollar. Honda Motor Co., which gets half its revenue in North America, gained 1.8%. Sony Corp., which gets a quarter of its sales from the U.S., climbed 0.8%
The Japanese currency was recently at 93.67 per dollar, having traded as low as 93.85 today from 92.39 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. The yen sank to 93.96 late yesterday, the weakest since Jan. 7.
Tokyo Electron was down 0.9% with Advantest falling 2.1% and Elpida lower by 1.8%.
Investors in Korea were keeping a close eye on the currency market after recent large falls in the won, with the U.S. dollar largely steady against the won in early trade.
Banks were higher in Seoul with Shinhan Financial up 3.4% and KB Financial up 1.8%, while Hynix Semiconductor gained 2.3% amid ongoing expectations for restructuring in the global chip industry.
In Sydney, Ten Network shares dropped 22.0% to an all-time low after it said it wouldn't go ahead with a proposed equity raising, citing difficult market conditions.
There was some action in mining stocks, with Sims Metal gaining 3.0% after it met its first half guidance, posting a net loss of A$79.4 million.
Fortescue Metals gained another 8.4% on hopes for a strategic investor. People familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires that Fortescue was in talks with a number of parties, including China's Hunan Valin Iron & Steel Group - backed by China Investment Corp - but added there was nothing firm as yet.
New Zealand shares remained under pressure with investors targeting companies which were highly-leveraged - or perceived at least to be highly-leveraged. Chemicals maker Nuplex Industries sank 27% to its lowest level since June 1992, after saying it was in potential breach of its banking covenants.
PGG Wrightson fell another 8.2% amid concerns about its debt levels, while Fisher & Paykel Appliances was down 3.1% after tumbling earlier in the week on a profit warning and news it might seek to issue equity to shore up its balance sheet.
CHINA
China National Software & Service Co., which designs language software, jumped 10% in Shanghai after a stimulus package for the industry was approved.
Founder Technology Group Corp., China’s second-largest computer maker, rose 4.1%.
The Beijing government will seek to boost domestic demand, increase financial input for the industry and maintain the level of export tax rebates for electronic products, China’s State Council, or cabinet, said today.
Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., China’s biggest steelmaker, advanced 4.2%. The Shanghai Securities News reported that the government plans to issue policies this weekend to encourage domestic steel takeovers.
Elsewhere:
China’s Shanghai Composite Index was up a full percentage point, or 22.57, to 2,298.41
Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 21.71 points, or 1.3%, to 1,629.35
Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained 30.50 points or 0.7%, to 4,528.87
South Korea’s Kospi fell 6.09 points or 0.55% to 1,107.10
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index gave back 4.08, or 0.2% to 2,616.93
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 35.70 points or 1.1% to 3,448.90
-with contributions from other news services.
