By Daniel Inman
Japan reversed earlier losses and led gains in Asia on
Wednesday, as news that President Barack Obama will nominate Janet
Yellen as Federal Reserve chairwoman gradually trumped concerns
over a partial government shutdown in the U.S.
Asia initially took its lead from the U.S., where Wall Street
fell on Tuesday as the stalemate in Washington increased fears the
world's largest economy might breach the federal debt ceiling,
causing the Treasury to default on debt.
Although investors think a default is unlikely time is running
out for lawmakers to reach a deal on the debt ceiling. Obama warned
on Tuesday of "economic chaos" if the U.S. fails to pay its
bills.
But for the second day in a row, Asian stocks managed to shake
off some of their earlier weakness, with most markets moving into
positive territory or close to the breakeven point after The Wall
Street Journal reported Obama plans to announce later in the day he
is nominating Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen as its new
leader.
Seen as a monetary policy dove, Yellen is considered more likely
to maintain the Fed's current stance which may provide relief for
Southeast Asian markets under pressure recently from fears the Fed
could change course.
Japan made the biggest turnaround as the dollar pushed back
against the yen, with the Nikkei ending up 1% at 14037.84. The
Japanese currency (USDJPY) weakened to 97.34 yen a dollar, compared
with Yen96.87 late on Tuesday in New York.
Singapore's Straits Times Index was last up 0.3%, Indonesia's
JSX added 0.4% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 reversed earlier
weakness to post a less than 0.1% gain to 5153.00.
The reaction to Yellen's nomination "is remarkably less marked
than when Lawrence Summers pulled out of the race," said Nick
Verdi, currency strategist at Barclays.
The International Monetary Fund also weighed down sentiment
after it cut its international growth forecast on Tuesday to 2.9%.
A weakening outlook for emerging markets like India and China drove
the revision.
Stocks in China were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.6%
at 2211.77, adding to the strong gains in the previous session,
while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.6% to 23033.97.
The next major economic point for Asia will be Chinese data with
trade and inflation numbers over the weekend and early next week.
Markets will be looking for more signs of economic recovery.
In Tokyo, Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) lost 1% after its chief
executive said Mizuho Bank's former head had received reports about
loans to people connected to organized crime -- contradicting
earlier remarks by bank officials who said management hadn't been
informed.
Also in Japan, Honda Motor Co. rose 1.9%, outperforming the
broader market, after its new car sales in China for September more
than doubled on year -- recovering from a fall caused by a
territorial dispute between Japan and China.
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