(RTTNews) - Asian stocks rebounded across the board on Wednesday amid bargain hunting and short-covering after recent heavy losses. However, the undertone remained cautious as investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate decision and the accompanying statement on the state of economy. Attention was also focused on the upcoming policy meetings of the Bank of England and European Central Bank, respectively.

The Japanese market ended higher, led by resource-related stocks after oil and gold prices climbed. The benchmark Nikkei 225 closed at 9,844, up 41 points or 0.42% and the broader Topix index of all first section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 0.1% to 881, reversing an early loss. The market was closed on Tuesday for a public holiday.

Sumitomo Metal Mining advanced 2.57%, Mitsubishi Corp rose 1.41% and Marubeni Corp added 3.18%. Japan Steel Works jumped over 10% after the company lifted its full-year profit forecast.

Among exporters, Tokyo Electron plunged over 5% and Advantest declined 1.25% after a brokerage cut its rating on the semiconductor industry.

Nissan Motor advanced 1.69% after its U.S sales increased in October. Toyota Motor added 1.12% on reports it is raising its global sales target.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 1.64% and Mizuho Financial Group declined 2.17%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ended flat.

The Chinese market extended its uptrend into the fourth session, led by banks and non ferrous metal producers. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index, which tracks both A and B shares, rose 14 points or 0.46% to 3,129, its highest close since Aug 13. The World Bank on Wednesday raised its 2009 growth forecast for China to 8.4% compared to its June forecast for 7.2% growth.

Shandong Gold outperformed the broader market with an over 2% gain and Zijin Mining Group added 1.5% after gold prices hit a record high. Shenzhen Development Bank and Hua Xia Bank ended up nearly 2% each. Property developers closed mostly lower on worries banks’ lending to the real estate sector may decline.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index rose 375 points or 1.76% to 21,615 as investors accumulated banking and gold stocks on bargain hunting. Bank of China and China Construction Bank rose around 2.6% each after ending sharply down in the previous session. Dongfeng Motor rallied over 12% after reporting a 4.63 billion yuan profit in the first nine months of the year.

The South Korean market ended a six-day slide on bargain hunting. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 1,580, up 30 points or 1.94% led by gains in banks and brokerages. However, volume was moderate at 262.6 million shares worth 3.7 trillion won, indicating weak underlying sentiment. Gainers outnumbered decliners by 541 to 257.

On a net basis, overseas investors bought shares worth KRW103.2 billion, while domestic institutions and retail investors sold shares worth KRW41.8 billion and KRW80 billion, respectively.

KEB rallied around 8%, KB Financial Group advanced 1.8% and Hana Financial Group gained 1.2% on value buying after recent losses. Shinhan Financial Group added nearly 3% and Korea Exchange Bank rallied around 8% on better-than-expected third-quarter earnings.

Daewoo Securities surged up over 7%, leading the gainers among brokerage stocks. Chip makers and car makers also finished on a positive note.

The Australian market finished a volatile session modestly higher, led by miners and banks. Some encouraging economic data on building approvals also helped improve sentiment. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed at 4,540, up 9 points or 0.19% and the broader All Ordinaries index rose 8 points or 0.17% to 4,548.

Big miner BHP Billiton rose 0.54% and its rival Rio Tinto gained nearly a percent. In the gold sector, Newcrest rallied 3.21% and Lihir Gold surged up 4.42% as gold prices hit a record high.

Among banks, Westpac Banking advanced 1.42% after its full-year earnings exceeded market expectations, Commonwealth Bank edged up 0.18% and Macquarie Group gained 2.17%. In the energy sector, Oil Search rose 1.37% and Santos gained 1.42%, but Woodside Petroleum fell 1.01%.

Publisher Fairfax Media advanced 3.24% and West Australian Newspapers rallied 6.52% after the circulation of its flagship newspaper ‘The West Australian’ rose for the second straight quarter. Electronics retailer Harvey Norman rose 2.57% after Credit Suisse upgraded its rating on the stock to “outperform” from “underperform.”

The New Zealand market ended a lackluster session with a modest gain. The benchmark NZX-50 closed at 3,166, up 8 points or 0.24%. Within the index, 14 stocks advanced, 17 declined and 19 closed unchanged.

Among top bluechip stocks, Telecom rose 1.60% and Contact Energy advanced 0.66%, but Fletcher Building fell 1.48%. Contact Energy said it spudded the first of an additional three wells at its $250 million Ahuroa underground natural gas storage facility near Stratford.

Medical equipment manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Healthcare added 1.30%, Sky Network Television gained 0.21% and Auckland International Airport rose 2.60% on an “outperform” rating by analysts.
Westpac Banking added 0.9% after the Australian lender said the bad-debt cycle may have peaked.

NZ Refining, in which Shell owns a 17% stake, edged down 0.20% and Infratil declined 0.63% after it had teamed up with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund for talks on the possible acquisition of Shell’s local refining and downstream businesses.

The Indian market saw a sharp rebound, buoyed by comments by finance minister that there are no immediate plans to end stimulus measures. Favorable Asian cues and covering of short positions also helped the market end a 6-day losing streak. The benchmark BSE Sensex was last trading near the day’s high at 15,884, up 479 points or 3.11%.

On Wall Street, the major averages finished a choppy session on the opposite sides of the unchanged mark overnight despite some signs of life on the M&A front and positive news on factory orders. A section of traders chose to stay on the sidelines ahead of release of key economic reports in the second half of the week.

Energy and raw-materials producers rose as crude oil advanced and gold climbed to a record, but technology stocks fell led by Intel Corp after Morgan Stanley reduced its rating on the stock to “cautious.’ While the Dow ended lower by 0.18%, the Nasdaq rose 0.4% and the S&P 500 moved up 0.24%.

After rising yesterday on upbeat U.S. factory orders, crude oil traded mostly steady below $80 a barrel on Wednesday. Traders await a key U.S. inventory report from the Energy Administration later Wednesday.

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Posted in Categories: Releases, Stocks.

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