By Chao Deng
Stocks in Japan surged for a second time this week while Hong
Kong emerged as one of the best-performing major Asian indexes so
far this month, as bargain hunters returned despite a recent bout
of volatility in global markets.
The Nikkei Stock Average led the region with a 2.4% gain after
the latest read on Japanese exports, which rose 6.9% from a year
earlier in September, helped by a weaker yen and a surge in output
among suppliers of components for Apple's new smartphones. Still,
Japan's trade deficit edged up 1.6% to Yen958.3 billion ($8.96
billion) from a year earlier, the first increase in three
months.
Stocks in Japan have had an especially rough run lately, falling
over 10% from a late-September peak and seesawing earlier this
week. On Tuesday, the Nikkei lost 2%.
The Nikkei tends to trade inversely to the U.S. dollar, whose
strength against the Japanese yen has waned in October,
backtracking on gains earlier this year. On Wednesday, the
greenback (USDJPY) was little changed from Yen107 late Tuesday in
New York.
The Hang Seng Index was emerging as the stronger performer in
the region. The index has achieved a month-to-date gain of 2%
despite protests that have hurt the city's retailers and other
businesses.
The index was up 1.2% Wednesday, after the government and
pro-democracy student leaders held official talks for the first
time Tuesday. There was no agreement, however, over how the city's
chief executive should be elected.
Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and Korea's Kospi were
each up 1.1%.
"Analysts are divided over the spur for the rallies. Some point
to the potential for European stimulus, while others are looking to
steady growth numbers from China," said Michael McCarthy, chief
market strategist at CMC Markets.
Overnight, U.S. stocks rallied on the back of upbeat technology
earnings and reports that the European Central Bank was considering
buying corporate bonds.
BHP Billiton (BHP) was up 1.5% after the firm reported strong
petroleum and metallurgical coal production and solid iron-ore
output figures for the September quarter.
Hyundai Motor was down 4.2% ahead of its third-quarter report.
The firm is estimated to post a net profit of 1.87 trillion won
($1.76 billion), down 17% from a year earlier, while sales likely
fell 12% to 20.57 trillion won, according to a Wall Street Journal
poll.
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