By Sarah Turner and V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Stocks in Tokyo jumped to lead Asian markets higher Wednesday after the Bank of Japan boosted its asset purchase program, within a week of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing.
“I think that we are seeing confirmation that easing in the U.S. is putting pressure on other central banks to ease as well,” said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital.
“Share markets continue to welcome this... easier conditions will ultimately stimulate growth and therefore profits,” Oliver said.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average (TYO:JP:100000018) rallied 1.2% as the yen weakened in the wake of the BOJ’s decision to expand its asset purchases by 10 trillion yen (about $127 billion) to ¥80 trillion. Read more on Bank of Japan.
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Australia’s S&P;/ASX 200 index (ASX:AU:XJO) gained 0.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI:HK:HSI) climbed 1.2% and South Korea’s Kospi (KRX:KR:SEU) rose 0.2%.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index (SHA:CN:000001) added 0.4% for its first positive finish this week.
Japanese exporters were particularly strong, as the dollar (ICAPC:USDJPY) rose above the 79-yen level afte rthe BOJ’s decision.
Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:JP:7203) (NYSE:TM) rose 1.9% and Nissan Motor Co. (TYO:JP:7201) (OTN:NSANY) climbed 3.7% and Panasonic Corp. (NYSE:PC) (TYO:JP:6752) climbed 2.7% to reverse some of the losses made this week after anti-Japan protests erupted in China.
Back in Japan and Fast Retailing Co. (TYO:JP:9983) (OTN:FRCOY) jumped 3.3% in Tokyo. The firm’s shares fell sharply on Tuesday after it shut some of its stores due to protests in China.
Japan Airlines Co. ended modestly higher as its shares relisted in Tokyo following a $8.5 billion public offering that followed a restructuring after its bankruptcy filing and delisting two years ago. The stock ended at 3,830 yen ($48.48), compared with its offering price of ¥3,790.
Hong Kong-listed auto makers also staged a rebound — with BYD Co. (HKG:HK:1211) (OTN:BYDDY) rising 2% and Dongfeng Motor Group Co. (HKG:HK:489) (OTN:DNFGY) higher by 3.4%.
Commodity-related stocks also gained sharply, after the Bank of Japan move, with Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (HKG:HK:2600) (NYSE:ACH) (SHA:CN:601600) adding 0.6% and gold miner Zijin Mining Group Co. (HKG:HK:2899) (OTN:ZIJMY) (SHA:CN:601899) advancing 5.6% in Hong Kong. In Shanghai, the stocks rose 1% and 4.9%, respectively.
Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd. (ASX:AU:NCM) (OTN:NCMGF) climbed 3.1%, Rio Tinto Ltd. (ASX:AU:RIO) (NYSE:RIO) advanced 1% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (ASX:AU:FMG) (OTN:FSUMF) climbed 5.4% after recent losses.
“There will be bumps along the way, but [the central-bank] action amounts to a major boost for the global economy,” said Oliver at AMP.
Shars of heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co. (KRX:KR:005930) (OTN:SSNLF) ended 0.1% lower in Seoul, underperforming the broad market after a report in Korea’s Kyunghyang Shinmun that the firm will cut its investment in the semiconductor business by half next year, due to slowing demand and declining prices. Read more on reported Samsung investment plans.
