Strong debut for Everbright Bank in second-largest Chinese IPO of the year By V. Phani Kumar, Colin Ng and Matthew Allen HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks ended mixed Wednesday, with Japanese shares advancing as technology and automobile exporters rose following strong earnings reports and U.S. industrial-production data that spurred a rebound on Wall Street. BHP Billiton tumbled, however, and put pressure on the broad market in Sydney after a higher opening, as Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan rejected the mining giant's unsolicited acquisition bid. And profit-taking in recent gainers such as Hutchison Whampoa dragged on Hong Kong, offsetting upbeat sentiment toward property developers after a pair of land auctions in the city attracted strong demand. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.9%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% and South Korea's Kospi added 0.4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.5%, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.2% and Taiwan's benchmark stock index slipped 0.1%, while India's Sensex rose 0.4% in afternoon trading. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA 10,406, +103.84, +1.01%) futures fell 13 points in screen trade, on the heels of Tuesday's broad-based U.S. gains. BHP Billiton (AU:BHP 38.42, -1.78, -4.43%) (BHP 70.21, -1.73, -2.40%) fell 4.4% in Sydney. With the board of Potash Corp. (POT 143.17, +31.02, +27.66%) (CA:POT 147.34, 0.00, 0.00%) having rejected its $38.6 billion offer, the suitor vowed to take its bid directly to the company's shareholders. See full story on the latest developments surrounding Potash Corp. "There are some concerns as to how BHP will fund the deal, as well as implications for its balance sheet and ongoing financial flexibility. Having said that, the fact that BHP has been willing to make such a move is a big positive and investors should take comfort in the miner's noted financial discipline," said Ben Potter, market strategist at IG Markets. Other mining stocks rose in Sydney as investors switched into them, with Rio Tinto (RTP 52.86, +1.01, +1.95%) (AU:RIO 73.45, +2.01, +2.81%) rising 2.8% and Fortescue Metals Group (AU:FMG 4.68, +0.12, +2.63%) (FSUMY 20.65, +0.69, +3.46%) climbing 2.6%. Agricultural companies also rallied on the bid for Potash, with GrainCorp (GRCLF 6.10, +0.45, +7.96%) (AU:GNC 6.78, +0.28, +4.31%) rising 4.3%. On a related note, AWB (AWBZY 0.00, 0.00, 0.00%) (AU:AWB 1.45, +0.01, +0.70%) climbed 0.7% to 1.45 Australian dollars ($1.31), shy of the A$1.50-a-share offer unveiled by Canada-based fertilizer company Agrium (AGU 68.89, +3.02, +4.58%) (CA:AGU 71.19, 0.00, 0.00%) on Monday. In Tokyo, stocks rose on the back of gains on Wall Street. Nintendo (JP:7974 23,350, +1,030, +4.61%) (NTDOY 32.97, +0.11, +0.33%) rose 4.3% and Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY 15.03, +0.07, +0.47%) (JP:7201 655.00, +18.00, +2.83%) advanced 2.8%, also helped by the Japanese yen's fall against the euro and the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. Still, "since the dollar is staying below 86 yen, there still is tension in the market," said Yumi Nishimura, senior market analyst at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets. Shares of Hamamatsu Photonics (JP:6965 2,606, +156.00, +6.37%) (HPHTF 29.70, -0.60, -1.98%) gained 6.4%, bid higher after it was added to the MSCI World Index, while Nidec (JP:6954 9,450, +80.00, +0.85%) (NJ 20.94, +0.05, +0.24%) rose 3.8% on news it will acquire the motors and controls unit of U.S.-based Emerson (EMR 48.66, +0.61, +1.27%) . China Everbright Bank (CN:601818 3.66, +0.56, +18.06%) shares made a strong debut to finish the day up 18% at 3.66 yuan (54 U.S. cents), compared with its initial public offering price of 3.10 yuan. Everbright has raised 18.9 billion yuan, and could raise another 2.8 billion yuan if the over-allotment option is fully exercised. The IPO is China's second largest this year after Agricultural Bank of China (CN:601288 2.69, 0.00, 0.00%) (HK:1288 3.42, +0.05, +1.48%) went public last month. See related AgBank story.

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