HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian markets were mixed Tuesday, with Japanese stocks soaring on the back of exporters such as Nintendo Co. as trading resumed after a holiday, while Australian shares declined even after the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage points to 5.25%.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Average advanced 4.7% to 8,982.89 in afternoon trading, after slumping 5% on Friday. The broader Topix index gained 4.5% to 906.24.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200, which fell more than 2% earlier in the day, was recently down 0.4% at 4,203, narrowing losses after the Reserve Bank of Australia's higher-than-expected interest rate cut. Economists widely expected a half-point cut.
"75 basis points is certainly a surprise," said Stuart Smith, a private client adviser at Bell Potter Securities in Brisbane. "I think the RBA has got one eye on inflation and one eye on the economy. So there's no danger of a recession here. That's the big message."
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index reversed early declines to rise 0.2% to 14,375.34 by the end of the morning session, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 1.4% to 6,898.35.
The stocks had declined earlier in the day after Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang said Monday that the risk of a recession in 2009 has increased, according to reports.
"The Hong Kong economy is still strong enough, although there is a risk that it may go into a recession," said Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong.
"The markets have stabilized and at least in the short-term there should find some solid support," Yip said, adding he expects the Hang Seng Index to end the year between 15,000 and 17,000.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4% to 1,138.51, and New Zealand's NZX 50 index slipped 0.4% to 2,844.31. Taiwan's Taiex slipped 0.1% to 4,987.95, Singapore's Straits Times Index gave up 1.6% to 1,853.08 and the Shanghai Composite slid 1.7% to 1,691.27. India's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, lost 1.5% to 10,198.76 in early trading, after advancing in the previous four sessions.
Regional movement
Exporters broadly advanced in Tokyo on a weakened yen and after U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight following Friday's advance, with Sony Corp. rising 5% and Nintendo Co. gaining 3.8%.
Among automakers, Toyota jumped 5.1% and Honda added 0.4% despite reporting a sharp decline in October sales in the U.S. Toyota sales dropped 23% from the year-ago month, while Honda declined 25%. Shares of Nissan Motor Co. slumped 9.3% in Tokyo after its U.S. sales tumbled 33%.
In Seoul, Hyundai Motor Co. stock gave up 4.2% as the company's sales shrank 31%, while Kia Motors Corp. lost 3.9% on a 39% slump in U.S. sales.
Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group advanced 6% in Tokyo although the banking giant slashed its full-year net income forecast by 65% on Friday.
Shares of Panasonic jumped 6% on reports the consumer electronics major is discussing buying the stakes held in Sanyo by Goldman Sachs , Daiwa Securities SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. . A deal is expected to give Panasonic, the world's largest maker of plasma televisions, an edge in the market for devices in electrics and solar panels used to generate electricity. See full story
Some resource stocks fell after crude-oil prices declined sharply on the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight. Shares of BHP Billiton lost 2.8% and Oil Search gave up 3.7%, while Cnooc lost 5.5% in Hong Kong.
December crude-oil prices tumbled $3.90, or 5.8%, to end at $63.91 a barrel Monday on the Nymex as traders continued to worry about the impact of a global economic slowdown on the demand for energy. See full story
The contract recently fell as much as 61 cents more to $63.30 a barrel in electronic trading.
In Asian currency trading, the U.S. dollar bought 98.59 yen, compared with 98.35 yen on Friday and 98.95 yen late Monday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 9,319.83 as automobile companies reported dismal sales figures and after a report said U.S. manufacturing activity had dropped in October. The S&P 500 index declined 0.3% to 966.30 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 1,726.33.
