Monday, the major markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed higher, led by China and Hong Kong as the Chinese premier's upbeat assessment that the economy was doing "better-than-expected" helped boost sentiment. But gains were restricted as investors expressed caution ahead of key earning reports from leading U.S. companies.
The Japanese market recovered from its day's lows and closed higher for the third day in a row on bargain hunting amid hopes of an early recovery in the economy. While the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 17 points or 0.19% to 8,925, the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed at 848, up 3 points or 0.32%.
Cyclical stocks like iron & steel, nonferrous metals, high-techs and autos provided support, but stocks in the consumer finance, mining and food sectors ended in the red.
Among automakers, Mazda rallied 5.69%, Honda gained 1.59%, Suzuki advanced 3.73% and Toyota added 1.31% but Nissan slipped 0.20%. In the technology space, Advantest rose 0.25% and Kyocera gained 1.01%, while Tokyo Electron fell 0.47% and Fujitsu declined 0.96%.
Toshiba Corp tumbled 4.82% on reports that it will raise $5 billion in capital as early as June to shore up its balance sheet. Steel producer Kobe Steel surged up 9.14% and Sumitomo Metal Industries soared 7.02% after Nomura Holdings Inc. upgraded the outlook for the steel industry to " bullish" and raised its target on several key stocks.
In economic news, a final report from Japan's Economic and Social Research Institute showed that the leading index was revised down to 75 from 75.2 in February. In January, the index stood at 76.7. At the same time, the coincident index was also revised down to 86 from 86.8, falling from a reading of 88.6 in January.
After rising as much as 1.2% earlier in the day, the Australian market closed lower as losses by the two biggest miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, dragged down the benchmarks. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed at 3,799, down 8 points or 0.2% and the All Ordinaries index also moved down 0.2% or 6 points to 3,722.
Despite a strong start, banking stocks closed mostly lower for the day. National Australia Bank moved down 0.41%, and Commonwealth Bank fell 1.35%, but Westpac Banking rose 0.20%.
Oil stocks bucked the declining trend. Woodside Petroleum rose 0.50% and Santos gained 2.31%, while Oil Search closed flat. Among retailers, Woolworths gained nearly 3%, Harvey Norman Holding rose 0.35% and David Jones added 2.33%.
The South Korean market finished a volatile session higher led, by strong gains in the banking sector amid continued support from foreign institutional investors. The benchmark KOSPI rose 7 points or 0.56% to 1,336 and volume was moderate at 556.19 million shares worth 5.82 trillion won (US$4.36 billion). Advancers outnumbered decliners by 492 to 337.
Banking stocks closed stronger following better-than-expected earnings from Citigroup. Korea Exchange Bank closed up 2.06%, Woori Finance soared 6.59% and KB Financial, the holding firm of Kookmin Bank rallied 4.05%.
Tech stock Hynix Semiconductor rose 1.04% as spot prices for DRAM chips showed a firm trend on the DRAMeXchange. LG Display gained 1.11% on improved prospects for the flat-panel industry.
However, market heavyweight Samsung Electronics slipped 0.84% on profit taking, LG Electronics fell 0.47%, shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding declined 1.45%, Korean Air Line drifted down 0.74% and Telecom stock SK Telecom moved down 0.80%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opened lower before recovering half an hour into trading. Thereafter, the index moved sideways for the rest of the session before closing up 149.64 points or 0.96% at 15,751.
Property stocks were higher across the board, with Henderson Land and Wharf Holdings showing particular strength. Most Hong Kong-based banks were lower, while mainland banks showed buying interest. Index heavyweight China Mobile advanced moderately. However, retailers and resource stocks showed weakness.
The Indian market fell into negative terrain in a volatile market after the European markets opened lower. The benchmark Sensex was last trading at 10,880, down 143 points or 1.30%, even as second-line stocks continued to outperform the benchmarks Sensex and Nifty.
Among the other markets in the region, China's Shanghai Composite index rose 2.14%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.96%, Singapore's STI Straits Times index fell 1.14% and Taiwan's TWII Weighed index closed up 0.46%.