SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Asian markets ended mostly higher Wednesday, with a weaker yen spurring gains in Japanese exporters, while easing concerns China would further tighten monetary policy bolstered shares in Hong Kong and on the mainland. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6%, Australia's S&P/ASX ended flat and South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tacked on 1.1% and China's Shanghai Composite added 0.9%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 42 points in screen trade. Japanese stocks rose for a third straight session as a weaker yen encouraged foreign investors to pick up exporters, while the improving domestic economic outlook helped financial stocks outperform. "The fact that shares are clinging to such high levels signifies the strong buying momentum of foreign investors," said Okasan Securities strategist Hideyuki Ishiguro. Among exporters, Sony added 2.5%, while TDK and Tokyo Electron also rose 2.3% and 2.0%, respectively. Softbank closed up 1.3% following Tuesday's 3.4% gain, on follow-through buying after the company announced Tuesday it will cooperate with China Mobile, Bharti Airtel of India and Vodafone Group of the U.K. to promote next-generation data communications technology for mobile phones. Intraday, Softbank hit its highest level since April 2006. MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings led financial shares to broad gains, as it ended up 3.4% at Y2,228, aided by expectations for Japan's economic recovery, according to Hiroichi Nishi, equity general manager at Nikko Cordial Securities. He said that while the Bank of Japan's raising of its assessment of the domestic economy for the first time in nine months has fueled bullish expectations for financial shares generally, funds are also flowing in from emerging economies, where inflation concerns continue. Among other financial plays, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group added 2.3% and Nomura Holdings rose 2.6%. Consumer lenders Aiful and Acom added 29% and 11%, respectively, as the group got a boost on easing concerns over claims payouts for overcharged interest, which had weighed the sector since Takefuji's bankruptcy months ago. Shares in Hong Kong and China posted gains as investors digested the milder-than-expected inflation data for January released on the mainland Tuesday showing China's consumer price index rose by 4.9% on-year last month, lower than the median forecast of 15 economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires for a 5.4% increase. "The fact that January CPI is lower than expected and below the 'magic' 5% should be considered a positive. The fear of imminent aggressive monetary tightening should dissipate somewhat, at least in the next month or so," said UBS in a research note. "The upward trend remains intact due to easing tightening concerns and improved liquidity," Guodu Securities analyst Zhang Xiang said, adding China's property market tightening measures may have driven some funds into the stock market from the real-estate sector. Steelmakers rose on expectations of higher steel product prices after Baoshan Iron & Steel Tuesday raised prices of its steel products for March delivery. Mainland-listed Baoshan Iron ended 2.8% higher and Fangda Special Steel jumped 5.4% after it reported a nine-fold rise in its net profit for last year. Angang Steel's Hong Kong shares added 1.2% and its mainland ones rose 1.6%. Mainland-listed auto shares gained on robust sales data. CNHTC Jinan Truck added 7.9% after the heavy truck producer said Wednesday its January sales rose 74% on-year. But Hong Kong-listed BYD Co. fell 2.5%, after the Warren Buffett-backed firm said its car sales in January fell 15% on year. In Sydney, BHP Billiton dropped 1.6% as investors locked-in profit after its first-half results and share buyback plans met market expectations. "BHP's results were largely as expected, so I think there's been some 'buy on rumor, sell on fact,'" said Macquarie Private Wealth's investment adviser John Milroy. "There also appears to be some switching from resources to banks. I think some of the Asian-exposed funds are probably underweight Aussie banks," Milroy said. In the banking sector, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group added 0.9% and Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1.0%. South Korean shares were hit hard on continued selling by foreigners, with profit-taking weighing tech and shipbuilding plays, while construction stocks fell on concerns the central bank may resume its rate hike cycle next month. Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 3.1% and Hyundai Engineering & Construction shed 4.1%, while Samsung Electronics lost 1.4% and LG Electronics closed 1.2% lower. "Foreigners have recently been pulling funds out of emerging economies like South Korea to (reinvest in) advanced countries, possibly to avoid rising inflationary risks in the region," said Taurus Investment & Securities analyst Lee Kyung-su. Bucking the trend, Korea Electric Power rose 1.9% after it signed a 25-year deal worth $1.43 billion to supply electricity in the United Arab Emirates. Among other markets, New Zealand's NZX-50 edged down 0.2%, Philippine stocks rose 0.6%, Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.5%, Indonesian shares were flat, Thailand's SET added 1.4%, Taiwan's Taiex slipped 0.1% and Malaysia's KLCI edged up 0.1%. In afternoon trade, India's Sensex was 0.2% higher. In the foreign-exchange markets, the euro ticked higher after owners of Germany's troubled state-controlled lender WestLB late Tuesday reached a deal on the bank's restructuring and downsizing. "Concern over WestLB had hurt the euro previously so this deal has set people at ease and prompted investors who had sold the currency on anxiety over the bank to buy it back," said Yuzo Sakai, manager of FX business promotion at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow. The euro was fetching $1.3551 from $1.3485 late Tuesday in New York, and Y113.27 from Y113.00. The dollar was at Y83.61 from Y83.78. Lead March Japanese government bond futures were off 0.43 at 138.55 points. The 10-year cash bond yield was up 4.5 basis points at 1.345%. Spot gold was at $1,374.80 per troy ounce, rising $1.50 from its New York close Tuesday. March Nymex crude-oil futures were up 45 cents at $84.70 per barrel on Globex -Dow Jones Newswires; +65-6415-4140; markettalk@dowjones.com TALK BACK: We invite readers to send us comments on this or other financial news topics. Please email us at TalkbackAsia@dowjones.com. 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