MW: Asian shares gain, but Japan slips on higher yen
By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Asian shares traded broadly higher Wednesday, with the exception of Japan. Japanese equities looked set to extend their losing streak, as morning gains evaporated in the face of a rising yen. The Nikkei Stock Average and Topix index were each down 0.4% in afternoon trade, as exporters lost ground. Tokyo-listed chip maker -- among the top advancers in the morning -- fell sharply, with Elpida Memory Inc. (JP:6665 1,349, -7.00, -0.52%) (ELPDF 17.45, -0.70, -3.86%) down 4% and Renesas Electronics Corp. (JP:6723 788.00, -20.00, -2.48%) (RNECY 4.64, -0.01, -0.22%) losing 2.3%. Almost all other major Asian indexes advanced modestly, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 0.5%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 up 0.2%, South Korea's Kospi gaining 0.5%, and India's Sensex 0.4% higher. However, Taiwan's Taiex and the Shanghai Composite were flat. Among the outperformers, Hong Kong shares of Angang Steel Co. (HK:347 11.60, +0.76, +7.01%) (ANGGF 1.24, -0.06, -4.62%) rose 7.2% on higher commodity prices and news that China plans to consolidate its steel sector.
