(RTTNews) - Most Asian stocks rose on Thursday, lifting the MSCI Asia Pacific index up by about half a percent, as investors resorted to bargain hunting in beaten-down riskier assets, drawing support from a late-session recovery on Wall Street overnight, higher U.S. futures and firm commodity prices amid a weakening greenback before the release of a U.S. report on initial jobless claims later in the day. The Japanese market rebounded on bargain hunting after drifting down to its lowest level since April 30th, 2009 in the previous session. The Nikkei 225 average rose 61 points or 0.69% to 8,906, with exporters gaining on short covering. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended up 5 points or 0.55% at 812. The yen retreated further from a 15-year high against the dollar on speculation that Japan’s policymakers will take steps to curb the currency’s continued appreciation. Digital camera maker Canon rose 1.31%, Panasonic Corp added 1.73% and Kyocera ended up 2%. Suzuki Motor rallied nearly 3% after its two-wheeler arm proposed to invest Rs. 100 crore in India by 2012 to more than double its annual motorcycle production capacity. The Australian market snapped a four-day losing streak, as investors welcomed positive earnings reports from a spate of companies such as Woolworths, Toll Holdings and Fortescue Metals. Woolworths, Australia’s biggest retailer, ended up 2.4% after it announced its second share buyback this year. Wesfarmers followed suit, rising nearly 3%. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.8% at 4,356 points after falling to a low of 4,320 earlier in the session. Banking stocks such as National Australia Bank, Commonealth and Westpac rose by 1%-2%, outperforming the broader market. Insurer and lender Suncorp advanced 3.6% on a brokerage upgrade. The broader All Ordinaries index ended the day up 33 points at 4,389. The New Zealand market rose for the third time in four sessions, as investors cheered better-than-expected corporate results and the positive outlook cited by several companies. The benchmark NZX-50 ended up 12 points or 0.41% at 3,018, with 20 of its components rising, while 20 others fell and 10 closed unchanged. Resins and chemicals maker Nuplex Industries climbed nearly 7% after it announced forecast-beating earnings and lifted dividend to 11 cents a share from 5 cents a year earlier. National carrier Air New Zealand rallied 4.13% after it posted a normalized full-year net profit of NZ$90 million. New Zealand’s biggest airport, Auckland International Airport, rose a little over a percent, after its annual profit exceeded its own initial guidance. Heavyweight Telecom Corp ended up 1.51%. However, South Korea’s KOSPI average closed 0.29% lower at 1,730, as skepticism about the strength of the U.S. economic recovery outweighed bargain hunting. The South Korean won edged higher in late session, erasing earlier losses, as the euro rebounded strongly. Construction firms such as Samsung C&T (down 3%) and Daewoo Engineering & Construction (down 1.1%) bore the the brunt of the selling. Samsung SDI, maker of rechargeable batteries, plunged nearly 5% on profit taking following recent sharp gains. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also slipped into the red with a modest 0.11% loss, extending its fall in the past five sessions to a little over 2%. However, China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite index, which tracks both A and B shares, ended up 7 points or 0.27% at 2,603, with coal miners in focus on reports of consolidation in the fragmented industry. Elsewhere, Malaysia’s KLSE Composite index gained 0.79%, while the Taiwan Weighted index slipped 0.61%. Singapore’s Straits Times closed unchanged with a negative bias. India’s 30-share BSE Sensex is posting a modest 0.2% gain on the last day of August series derivatives contracts. For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

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