HONG KONG (MarketWatch) - Most Asian markets ended higher Wednesday after Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election, with energy and exporter shares racing ahead as investors hoped his administration will reinvigorate the world's largest economy.
Japanese, mainland-Chinese and Hong Kong shares led the advance. Taiwanese shares ended lower, while Mumbai-listed shares were on their way to their first decline in six sessions, as worries about slowing corporate earnings and the absence of foreign-fund buying persisted.
Kevin Chang, head of regional tech strategy at Yuanta Core Pacific Securities in Taipei, said the market had just paused for breath and may continue to rebound in the short term, after the country's stock index lost more than half its value.
"Foreign-fund selling has eased, but it's probably not realistic to expect them to return in a hurry," said Chang. "We expect corporate earnings to weaken further and an improvement is likely only from the second quarter of next year."
Japan's Nikkei 225 Average ended 4.5% higher at 9,521.24, on top of its 6.5% jump in the previous session, while the broader Topix index rose 6.2% to 966.91.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 3.2% higher at 14,840.16 for its sixth advance in seven sessions, although it narrowed gains in the afternoon as investors locked in some profits. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index spiked 5.3% to 7,225.69.
China's Shanghai Composite climbed 3.2% to 1,760.61, and Australia's S&P/ASX rose 2.9% to 4,336.60.
South Korea's Kospi added 2.4% to 1,181.50 and New Zealand's NZX 50 index advanced 1.5% to 2,886.11.
"I don't think people are expecting a quick solution to the economic situation, but there is a bit of euphoria over the elections," said Ric Klusman, institutional trader at Aequs Securities in Sydney.
Klusman added that investors were expecting another rally on Wall Street later Wednesday, following Obama's decisive win.
Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.3% to 4,978.26, while in afternoon trading, India's Sensex lost 2.9% to 10,319.34 and Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 1.7% to 1,861.04.
The broad advance in the regional markets came after steep Election Day gains on Wall Street, and was sustained even after news broke that Obama, the Democratic nominee, rode a massive voter turnout to victory over Sen. John McCain and became the first African-American to be elected U.S. president. See full story.
"Sentiment has improved as people are expecting that the worst is already over," said Francis Lun, general manager at Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong. "It is being speculated that the new president will introduce measures that will help improve the economy and the markets."
Regional advance
Leading the market gains in Tokyo, shares of Canon Inc. surged 12.8% and Toyota Motor Corp. jumped 10.4%.
Fujitsu soared 14.9% after the company said it will acquire Siemens's soared 14.9% after the company said it will acquire Siemens's 50% stake in their IT infrastructure joint venture for 450 million euros ($570 million).
In Seoul, shares of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. ) gained 3.9% and steelmaker Posco rose 4.1%, while Inotera Memories Inc. jumped 5.8% in Taipei.
Ranking among losers, shares of Fast Retailing Co. tumbled 4.9% in Tokyo a day after the company reportedly said same-store sales at the Uniqlo clothing chain fell 2.5% in October from the year-ago month.
In Hong Kong, shares of fixed-line operator PCCW flared 26.9% as trading resumed for the first time since Oct. 14. The surge came a day after the company's two large shareholders, Pacific Century Regional Developments and China Network Communications Group Corp., said they plan to take PCCW private by buying out the remaining shareholders for HK$15.49 billion ($2 billion).
Chinese banking stocks raced ahead in Hong Kong, spurred by the gains in Shanghai trading. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China stock advanced 3.7% and China Construction Bank gained 5.5%. In Shanghai, ICBC shares rose 0.8%, while China Construction Bank advanced 3.5%.
Energy stocks also rallied after crude-oil prices finished above $70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight, with BHP Billiton jumping 8.5% and Woodside Petroleum advancing 2.3% in Sydney.
In Hong Kong, shares of Cnooc surged 5.8% and PetroChina Co. jumped 4.3%, while in Tokyo, shares of energy trader Marubeni Corp. climbed 10.1%.
In Mumbai, Tata Motors stock declined 3.4% in a weak broad market, unmoved by reports that Jaguar and Land Rover, the automobile brands it acquired from Ford Motor Co. ) earlier this year, were mulling a cut of as many as 400 jobs due to a difficult business environment.
December crude-oil prices soared 10.4%, or $6.62, to end at $70.53 a barrel on the Nymex. Recently, the front-month contract fell $2.47 to $68.06 a barrel in electronic trading.
In the currency markets, the U.S. dollar bought 98.80 yen, compared with 99.71 yen late Tuesday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 3.3% to 9,625.28 and the S&P 500 index rose 4.1% to 1,005.75, while the Nasdaq Composite added 3.1% to 1,780.12.
