Shares in the Asian region rebounded Friday, after a weak start, after investors picked up beaten-down equities in several countries.
At close, mainland China’s Shanghai Composite and India’s Sensex, both of which started lower, ended 1.1% and 1.5% higher, respectively. Australia’s ASX added 0.1% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended flat. Japan’s Nikkei, however, fell 0.7%, pressured by a rising yen.
In commodities, crude oil and metals inched up after China’s trade surplus was seen shrinking, according to data released early Friday, indicating the world’s fastest-growing major economy was importing more resources.
Stocks on the Move
In Tokyo, export-focused stocks traded under pressure with Sony, Panasonic and Ricoh falling 0.8% to 1.6% while auto majors Toyota, Honda and Nissan lost about 1.3% each.
In news-driven movers, JVC Kenwood Holdings slumped 5% after a regulator fined the company for attempting to raise capital using falsified documents. The stock had fallen 15% a day earlier after news it would split from the Panasonic group.
In Hong Kong, aviation and oil stocks weighed on the index. Air China dropped 2.6% while PetroChina fell 1.1%.
But China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation edged up 0.3% after announcing it would acquire Occidental Argentina for $2.4 billion.
In Shanghai, late buying in metal stocks boosted in the index. Aluminum Corporation of China, Yunnan Tin and Jiangxi Copper ended between 1.4% and 2.8% higher.
Financial stocks ended marginally up, with China Merchants Bank gaining the most with 1.1%
Indian stocks shrugged off a weak start, helped by strong industrial production data released afternoon.
Investors bought into blue chips such as ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries, which rose 5.5% and 3.4%, amid corporate-governance issues and corruption relating to business-bureaucracy nexus clouding sentiment recently. The telecom and property sectors have been under the scanner of investigative agencies: the former for misallocation of spectrum while the latter is learnt to have appropriated capital from banks using illegal means.
In Sydney, financials rose, offsetting weakness in miners. National Australia Bank, ANZ Bank and Westpac Banking added 0.8% to 1.9% while Rio Tinto was off 0.7%.
