Asian shares mostly ended up Tuesday as financials rose after a strong show on Wall Street, though the gains were capped in some markets as commodity stocks came off their highs and U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a lower opening.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 61.74 points, or 0.6%, to 9,870.73.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 60.61 points, or 0.3%, to 22,268.16.
In Sydney, AXA Asia Pacific was trading higher a day after the firm rejected a combined multi-billion-dollar takeover bid from AXA SA and AMP.
Stock markets were getting a lift as "concerns about an immediate exit from economic stimulus programs seemed to have eased somewhat after the poor U.S. employment data," according to one expert.
Financials across the region were mostly higher after their U.S. counterparts helped pace the rise on Wall Street Monday.
National Australia Bank rose 1.8%, Shinhan Financial Group added 1.4% in Seoul, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 3.6%, Nomura Holdings added 2.9% in Tokyo and DBS Group Holdings climbed 1.5% in Singapore trading.
Banks in Seoul were helped by data showing a drop in the industry's nonperforming loans by the end of September from a quarter earlier.
In Sydney, AXA Asia Pacific gained 1.2%, a day after the firm rejected a takeover bid from AXA SA and AMP. Both Citigroup and Merrill Lynch analysts said a revised offer was needed to get shareholder support.
Samsung Electronics ended up 0.4% after the company said it expects no impact on its business from a ruling in the U.S. ordering it to stop selling some of its liquid crystal display devices in the U.S.
The U.S. International Trade Commission Monday ruled that Samsung infringed four patents of Sharp relating to LCDs and said the Korean company should cease selling devices in the U.S. that infringed the patents.
Resource shares in Sydney advanced on recent gains in commodity prices, with Rio Tinto ending up 2.6% and BHP Billiton gaining 2.3%. But they came off their early gains or declined in some other markets that close later, as the U.S. dollar rebounded and spurred weakness in commodities that are priced in the currency.
Cnooc rose 0.3% and Zijin Mining Group fell 2.2% in Hong Kong.
Among oil concerns, In Hong Kong, Sinopec fell 1.5% and PetroChina rose 0.8%.
CHINA
Chinese shares ended higher for an eighth successive session, aided by automobile stocks on data showing that passenger-vehicle sales surged nearly 76% in October.
The Shanghai 300 Composite Index gained another 7.99 points, to 3,503.78.
Financials in China and Hong Kong extended gains a day after ratings agency Moody's lifted the outlook on many of them. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China added 1.2% and Bank of China rose 1.1% in Hong Kong, in addition to posting a 1.3% and 0.2% rise, respectively, in Shanghai.
Chinese oil firms with refining operations gave up early gains although mainland authorities Monday announced an increase in the prices of diesel and gasoline. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. or Sinopec, lost 0.7% and PetroChina dropped 0.2% in Shanghai.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan’s Taiex index picked up 56.79 points, or 0.8%, to 7,593.49
Singapore’s Straits Times index was up 14.22 points, or 0.5%, to 2,707.60
Korea’s Kospi index gained 5.51 points, to 0.4%, to 1,582.30
New Zealand’s NZX Index finished 2.34 points higher to 3,167.41
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 58.70 points, or 1.3%, to 4,733.60
