Most Asian markets ended higher after a roller-coaster session Tuesday, with hopes for earnings growth and broker upgrades helping some indexes reverse early declines.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo actually tailed off Tuesday by 1.40 points, to end the day at 10,087.26, ending a nine-day win streak, the longest in 21 years.
In Tokyo, shares of JFE Holdings surged 7.3% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to a buy and the steelmaker forecast a full-year profit, although it swung to a quarterly loss.
Shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 3.9% after Nomura upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. Shares of Nomura ended 0.6% lower, however, as investors took profit despite news that its unit, Nomura Securities International, had been named a primary dealer by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index tacked on another 372.92 points, or 1.8%, to close at 20.624.54.
In Hong Kong, Bossini shares surged 39.4% after the fashion retailer said Chairman Law Ka Sing is in talks with an unnamed party to sell his controlling stake in the company.
In Seoul, auto stocks were lower after strong recent gains, but one expert said the market uptrend was expected to be sustained, and this was the time to think about what to buy, rather than worry about the potential for a large pullback. Hyundai Motor dropped 1.2% and Kia Motors gave up 1.9%. But Hana Financial climbed after Citigroup upgraded the stock to buy, saying the "worst is over."
New Zealand shares advanced for an 11th successive session, with Telecom Corp. of New Zealand rising 0.7% and Air New Zealand climbing 6.1%.
In foreign exchange markets, the euro was at 135.43 yen from 135.49 yen in late New York trade, while the dollar was at 94.88 yen from 95.19 yen. The euro gained against the U.S. dollar, trading at $1.4273 U.S. from $1.4233 U.S., as risk appetite remained solid.
CHINA
Shanghai’s 300 Composite Index gained 12.19 points, or 0.3%, to 3,755.82.
Steelmakers gained in Shanghai on an improving economic and earnings outlook, with Baoshan Iron & Steel rising 8.7% and Wuhan Iron & Steel gaining 5.9%.
But some banks were lower after China's banking regulator Monday issued rules governing loans for infrastructure projects. That triggered concerns of a credit drain in the second half of the year, after a record 7.4 trillion yuan in loans was issued in the first half. Bank of Communications' Shanghai-listed shares shed 1.1% and Bank of China slipped 0.2%.
There was little market impact from the People's Bank of China's estimate that the gross domestic product rose 14.9% quarter-to-quarter in the second quarter, as the central bank also warned inflation may rebound in the second half of the year.
Elsewhere:
Singapore’s Straits Times Index picked up 47.38 points, or 1.8%, to 2,624.04.
South Korea’s Kospi index advanced 1.98 points, or 0.1%, to 1,526.03
Taiwan’s Taiex moved 114.20 points, or 1.6%, higher to 7,142.63
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 20.46 points, or 0.7%, to 3,018.47
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 29.90 points, or 0.7% to 4,169.50, running its winning streak to 11.
