By Colin Ng, Leslie Shaffer & V. Phani Kumar HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Most Asian markets ended higher after a roller-coaster session Tuesday, with hopes for earnings growth and broker upgrades helping some indexes reverse early declines. Japan's Nikkei 225 Average ended flat at 10087.26, after gaining in the previous nine sessions and moving in both directions during the course of the day. The broader Topix Index, however, added 0.2%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended 1.8% higher to 20624.54 and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1% to 3438.37, with each erasing early losses. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.7%, while the All Ordinaries Index rose 0.6%, stretching its winning run into an 11th straight session. "Everyone's waiting for the pullback, so it's not happening. After 11 straight days of gains [for the All Ordinaries Index of 500 companies], you have to question at some point whether there is going to be consolidation, but I'm very optimistic going forward," Macquarie Private Wealth associate director David Halliday said. Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.1% and Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.6%. In afternoon trading, India's Sensex advanced 0.3%, while Singapore's Straits Times Index climbed 2%. "The market just looks tired," said RBS head of sales, Justin Gallagher. "It's been a pretty phenomenal move going into reporting season, so it would be a good performance to hang on to these gains this week." In Tokyo, shares of JFE Holdings (JFEEF 31.50, -31.50, -50.00%) (JP:5411 3,310, +40.00, +1.22%) surged 7.3% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to a buy and the steelmaker forecast a full-year profit, although it swung to a quarterly loss. Shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFJ.Y 4.08, +0.11, +2.77%) (JP:8316 3,840, +70.00, +1.86%) gained 3.9% after Nomura upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. Shares of Nomura (JP:8604 820.00, +25.00, +3.14%) (NMR 8.67, +0.27, +3.21%) ended 0.6% lower, however, as investors took profit despite news that its unit, Nomura Securities International, had been named a primary dealer by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In Mumbai, shares of Tata Motors (TTM 10.49, +0.38, +3.76%) jumped 9.7% in the afternoon, helping lift the broad market, a day after reporting strong fiscal first-quarter earnings. Steelmakers gained in Shanghai on an improving economic and earnings outlook, with Baoshan Iron & Steel rising 8.7% and Wuhan Iron & Steel gaining 5.9%. But some banks were lower after China's banking regulator Monday issued rules governing loans for infrastructure projects. That triggered concerns of a credit drain in the second half of the year, after a record 7.4 trillion yuan in loans was issued in the first half. Bank of Communications' (BCMX.Y 0.00, 0.00, 0.00%) (HK:3328 9.86, +0.08, +0.82%) Shanghai-listed shares shed 1.1% and Bank of China (BACH.Y 12.70, +0.96, +8.18%) (HK:3988 3.97, +0.06, +1.53%) slipped 0.2%. There was little market impact from the People's Bank of China's estimate that the gross domestic product rose 14.9% quarter-to-quarter in the second quarter, as the central bank also warned inflation may rebound in the second half of the year. "Though sustainability of China's recovery remains a concern for some investors, a new concern is when Beijing will tighten policies," said Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in a report. In Seoul, auto stocks were lower after strong recent gains, but Choi Jai-sic, analyst at Daishin Securities, said the market uptrend was expected to be sustained, and this was the time to think about what to buy, rather than worry about the potential for a large pullback. Hyundai Motor (HYMT.F 11.25, -0.40, -3.43%) dropped 1.2% and Kia Motors (KIMTF 12.62, +0.61, +5.12%) gave up 1.9%. But Hana Financial (HNFG.F 0.00, 0.00, 0.00%) climbed after Citigroup upgraded the stock to buy, saying the "worst is over." In Hong Kong, Bossini (BOSIF 0.05, +0.00, +11.17%) (HK:592 0.50, +0.14, +39.44%) shares surged 39.4% after the fashion retailer said Chairman Law Ka Sing is in talks with an unnamed party to sell his controlling stake in the company. New Zealand shares also advanced for a 11th successive session, with Telecom Corp. of New Zealand (NZT 9.39, +0.05, +0.54%) (NZ:TEL 2.88, +0.02, +0.70%) rising 0.7% and Air New Zealand (NZ:AIR 1.04, +0.06, +6.12%) (ANZF.Y 12.85, -0.13, -0.98%) climbing 6.1%. "Investors are now starting to buy ahead of reporting season after seeing what happened in America where a lot of results beat market expectations. I think investors believe that's what's going to happen in New Zealand as well," said Grant Williamson, an adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene. In foreign exchange markets, the euro was at 135.43 yen from 135.49 yen in late New York trade, while the dollar was at 94.88 yen from 95.19 yen. The euro gained against the U.S. dollar, trading at $1.4273 from $1.4233, as risk appetite remained solid. The Australian dollar jumped after RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said it was more likely the Australian economy may rebound faster than had been expected a few months ago. The aussie was recently buying $0.8321.

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