Asian stock markets ended modestly higher Tuesday, as investors sought out undervalued assets and currencies throughout the region following overnight declines in U.S. Treasury yields.
Tokyo stocks, however, stood out as an exception to the rising trend, ending at a fresh-year-to-date low as worries about appreciation in the Japanese yen again weighed on exporters, though equities pared losses on optimism that the government will consider new stimulus measures.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dumped 34.99 points, or 0.4%, to 9,161.88, its lowest closing level since Nov. 27, 2009.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index moved higher by 25.31 points, or 0.1%, to 21,137.43
The yen's rise against the U.S. dollar and the euro continued to hobble the Tokyo market, but most stocks ended off their morning lows.
The Nikkei dipped near last week's 13-month intraday low soon after the opening bell as investors sold exporter shares on sluggish U.S. economic data.
But some losses were trimmed on local media reports saying the government is studying additional stimulus measures to prop up the economy following grim April-June data on gross domestic product.
Among exporters, shares of Olympus dropped 0.8%. Auto makers were also weaker, with Toyota Motor Corp. off 0.7%.
Kirin Holdings added 0.8%, gaining after the company on Monday reported a 52% drop in first-half net profit while lowering its sales outlook for the fiscal year. Expectations emerged that a summer heat wave might spur beer sales, drawing buyers to Kirin shares.
Ahead of elections scheduled for Saturday, Australian shares reversed losses as mid-cap resources plays and other stocks tied to the economic cycle garnered investor interest. Rare-earths miner Lynas Corp. added 7.1%, and Rio Tinto edged up 0.9%.
Shares of Leighton Holdings added 3.6%. The company said Monday that net profit and work-in-hand both hit records in fiscal 2010, with growth pegged to continue in the current financial year.
Gains in shipping, refinery and shipbuilding stocks supported the South Korean market, with Hyundai Heavy Industries gaining 0.7%.
In Hong Kong, Shanghai Industrial tacked on 5.3% after the company agreed to acquire a controlling stake in China-listed Shanghai Industrial Development for 5.13 billion yuan. China-listed shares jumped 10%.
China Southern Airlines dropped 1.8%.
Investors shrugged off the carrier's financials results reported Monday that showed first-half net profit skyrocketed from a year earlier due to increased travel demand and a gain from selling its aircraft maintenance unit. China Southern's stock has rallied 60% so far this year.
The city's major real-estate property developers ended mostly higher after a better-than-expected land auction result buoyed confidence in the wake of sharp declines in the previous session.
The government sold a residential site on the Kowloon Peninsula in an auction for HK$4.10 billion, above the range of HK$3.63 billion to HK$3.94 billion that surveyors and analysts had expected. Another plot sold at auction also beat analysts' expectations.
Shares of Sino Land jumped 3.6%, while Cheung Kong, which said it bought the two sites, added 1.1%.
In foreign-exchange markets, the yen weakened slightly against the U.S. dollar and the euro. Traders keyed on a report on Fuji TV that Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Masaaki Shirakawa, the Bank of Japan governor, will meet next Monday.
The report fueled speculation that they could move to tackle the yen's recent strength through measures such as monetary easing by the Japanese central bank, said some experts However, the impact on the currency market was somewhat limited as traders awaited concrete details, they said.
Late Tuesday in Tokyo, the U.S. dollar was fetching 85.28 against the yen, from 85.30 yen late Monday in New York, and the euro was buying 109.87 yen compared with 109.35 yen.
Elsewhere;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index gained 20.21 points, or 0.7%, to 2,942.29
Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 10.15 points or 0.4%, to 2,923.36
Korea’s Kospi index picked up 11.72 points, or 0.7%, to 1,755.03
Taiwan’s Taiex Index subtracted 10.13 points, or 0.1%, to 7,931.09
New Zealand’s NZX index shed 16.98 points, or 0.6%, to 3,006.55
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 38.50 points, or 0.9%, to 4,477.00
