By Chao Deng
Stocks in Asia rose Wednesday ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve
announcement on quantitative easing and in the wake of a rally on
Wall Street.
The Nikkei Stock Average gained 1.5% to 15,553.91, helped by a
stronger dollar and earnings from bellwether companies such as
Nomura Holdings and Hitachi Construction Machinery (6305.TO) .
"Against the backdrop of pretty bad economic data from Europe
and a slowing China, investors are eager to hear the Fed's take on
current developments," said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at
Chibagin Asset Management. "Despite a recent fall in U.S. interest
rates, however, dollar selloffs have not been steep, which is
encouraging for Japan stock investors."
Stocks across the region traded higher after the Dow Jones
Industrial Average(DJI) rose 1.1%. The world's largest stock market
has been in rebound mode for two weeks. As of Tuesday, it had
nearly recouped all its losses from a sharp selloff at the start of
October.
The greenback(USDJPY) was changing hands at 108.11 yen at the
close of trading in Tokyo, rising above Yen108, a level it broke
through on Friday for the first time in two weeks. A stronger
dollar is generally better for Japanese exporters, as they earn in
dollars and spend in yen back home.
Nomura Holdings rose 4.4% after its net profit more than doubled
in the second quarter to Yen52.87 billion, well ahead of street
expectations. It also announced a share buyback facility worth up
to Yen28 billion, or 1.0% of shares outstanding. Hitachi
Construction Machinery gained 3.9% after its Yen25.4 billion first
half operating profit came in above its Yen22.0 billion
guidance.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed up 1.3% at 23819.87,
recovering back to the level it traded at in late September before
pro-democracy demonstrations began in earnest. The index was at
23678.41 on Friday Sept. 26, the last trading day before police
tear-gassed students, an event that sparked a backlash against the
government and brought hundreds of thousands of protesters to the
streets.
Still, the index remains 5.8% off its 2014 peak on Sept 4, as
worries about global economic growth, including in China, as well
as uncertainty about the launch of a trading program linking Hong
Kong and Shanghai continue to weigh.
In Shanghai, the broader index was up 1.5% at 2373.03, helped by
outperformers in the airline sector on expectations of lower fuel
costs. China Eastern Airlines Corp. rose to its 9.9% daily limit,
at 3.45 yuan, and China Southern Airlines Co.(ZNH) climbed 4.4% to
3.08 yuan.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires