Asian stocks rose broadly on Wednesday, led by Hong Kong on fund flows via the so-called Shanghai-HK Stock Connect scheme. While Tokyo, Hong Kong and Chinese markets hit fresh multi-year highs, the safe-haven Japanese yen rose from near a two-week low against the dollar after the Bank of Japan maintained its expansively easy monetary policy as expected.
Investors waited for the minutes from the 17-18 March FOMC meeting for clues on when policymakers will increase interest rates.
Chinese shares hit another seven-year high, with banks pacing the gainers on hopes of further policy support. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.84 percent at 3,994.81.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index soared 3.80 percent to 26,236.86 , its highest level since May 9, 2008, as stocks played catch-up with gains in regional peers over the holiday break. Sentiment was also boosted after the Chinese regulators approved a merger between train makers China CNR Corp. and CSR Corp.
Japanese shares rose for a second day to reach a 15-year high after policymakers voted to keep current monetary policy steady, with one board member expressing dissent. The benchmark Nikkei average climbed 149.27 points or 0.76 percent to 19,789.81, its highest level since April 2000, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.6 percent to 1,588.47.
The Bank of Japan left unchanged its decision to increase monetary base at an annual base of 80 trillion yen by an 8-1 vote. The central bank maintained its view on export growth, business fixed investment, public investment, private consumption and housing investment, reiterating that the economy is continuing moderate recovery.
Inpex Corp rallied 2.2 percent and JX Holdings rose 1.2 percent, driven by a rebound in crude oil price and gains among their U.S. peers overnight. Pharmaceutical firm Eisai added 1.2 percent after it was granted an additional patent for its Belviq drug. Fast Retailing ended flat before releasing its first-half results on Thursday.
Dentsu Inc. soared 6.1 percent after posting a rise in its March sales. Kawasaki Heavy Industries jumped 2.5 percent on a Nikkei report that it will log a second straight record operating profit in fiscal 2015.
On the economic front, Japan posted a current account surplus of 1,440.1 billion yen in February, the biggest in more than three years, as lower oil prices resulted in a smaller trade deficit and a weaker yen boosted repatriated returns on foreign investment, official figures showed.
Australian shares rose as a rebound in iron ore and crude prices boosted resource stocks. The benchmark index S&P/ASX 200 gained almost one percent in early trade before paring gains to end the session up 0.59 percent at 5,960.7. Mining giant BHP Billiton gained a percent, Rio Tinto advanced 1.5 percent and Fortescue Metals Group soared 8.1 percent after iron ore prices saw slight recovery, rising above $47 a ton.
Atlas Iron has announced a halt to stock market trading as it conducts a “comprehensive review” of its business. Evolution Mining rose 1.1 percent after the company said it would make a voluntary debt repayment of A$35 million. Gold miner Newcrest Mining rallied 2.2 percent. Gold prices edged lower on Tuesday after surging to seven-week highs in the previous session on the back of Friday’s disappointing U.S. jobs report.
In the oil sector, Woodside Petroleum climbed 2 percent, Oil Search jumped 5.7 percent and Santos climbed 4.4 percent. U.S. crude oil surged for a second day to approach 2015 highs on Tuesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that U.S. oil production will decline between June and September.
Banks ended mixed, a day after the Reserve Bank kept its policy rate unchanged. Westpac and NAB rose about 0.3 percent each, while Commonwealth slipped 0.2 percent and ANZ declined 0.3 percent. Myer Holdings soared 8.8 percent on reports billionaire retailer Solomon Lew and private equity groups are said to be exploring takeover bids for the troubled department store.
Seoul shares rose, led by brokerage and oil refiners. The benchmark Kospi average rose 0.6 percent to 2,059.26. Samsung Electronics rose 1.2 percent after flagging better-than-expected profits for the first quarter. In economic news, South Korea’s money supply growth held steady in February, after easing in the previous two months, central bank data showed.
New Zealand shares rose, led by retirement village operators, a day after Summerset Group Holdings posted record first-quarter sales. Metilfecare, Summerset and Ryman Healthcare rose between 0.4 percent and 0.9 percent. The benchmark NZX-50 index edged up 4.28 points or 0.07 percent to close at 5,859.71.
India’s Sensex was gaining 0.8 percent on the back of sustained foreign fund inflows. Elsewhere, the benchmark indexes in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan were down between 0.2 percent and 0.8 percent.
Taiwan’s consumer price index fell 0.61 percent year-over-year in March, faster than February’s 0.2 percent drop, a government report showed.
U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday after seeing moderate strength for much of the session as FedEx and other companies announced deals. While a jump in crude prices lifted energy stocks, consumer discretionary stocks were among the biggest decliners. The Dow edged down marginally, the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 0.1 percent and the S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent, breaking a two-day winning streak.
