Asian stocks were mostly higher on Wednesday as comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke helped improve risk sentiment, though Tokyo shares continued to be weighed by a strong yen.
More in Markets- Bernanke Defends Easy-Money Policies
- Toshiba Names CEO
- India Budget a Likely Tightrope Walk
- Russian Banks Look to Yuan Bond Market
Speaking at his semiannual report to Congress, Mr. Bernanke said that the central bank's bond buying program was helping the economy by keeping long-term interest rates lower. The speech was interpreted as Mr. Bernanke remaining in favor of continuing the central bank's stimulus measures.
"Mr. Bernanke confirmed the Fed's commitment to continue quantitative easing until unemployment falls, and U.S. economic data are clearly improving," said Martin Lakos, division director in Macquarie's Private Wealth division in Australia.
The news helped most markets in Asia rebound after they took a beating on Tuesday as inconclusive results from Italy's election revived concerns over the European debt crisis.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.6% and South Korea's Kospi Composite rose 0.3%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index added 0.5%, while the Shanghai Composite in mainland China gained 0.3%.
Some high profile Asian companies were higher after releasing their latest earnings reports.
In Malaysia, AirAsia Bhd soared 11% after announcing that its net profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter. The stellar earnings of Southeast Asia's largest discount carrier by fleet size were helped by higher passenger fares, increased passenger volume as well as lower taxes.
In Hong Kong, AIA Group rose 3% after the Asian insurance heavyweight beat estimates by reporting a 27% rise in new business value in the 12 months that ended Nov. 30, with strong growth in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Bucking the regional trend was Japan, where stocks continued to fall as the yen remained strong. The Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.6%.
The U.S. dollar gave up its early gains against the yen, and softened a touch as the morning progressed. The greenback was recently at �91.85 compared with �91.97 late Tuesday in New York and much weaker than the �94.77 intraday high it reached on Monday.
Enlarge Image
Close ReutersFederal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday the benefits of the Fed's bond-buying program still outweigh the potential risks.
It has been an extremely volatile week in Japan, where the Nikkei leapt 2.4% on Monday after reports that the government was planning to name Asian Development Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda as a nominee for the next Bank of Japan governor, before sliding 2.3% on Tuesday after uncertainty over Italy's elections strengthened the yen.
Among companies in focus in Tokyo, Nissan Motor fell 1.2% after the president of its joint venture in China said that its wholesale sales in China may fall 20% on-year for January and February.
Canon fell 2.3% on profit-taking. The company held its 2013 strategy briefing, which revealed that it is targeting annual sales growth of between 7% and 8% on a local-currency basis.
Write to Daniel Inman at daniel.inman@wsj.com
No comments :
Post a Comment