WSJ:Asian Shares End Mostly Higher As Oil Retreats; Techs Fall In Tokyo
By Virginia Harrison in Sydney and V. Phani Kumar in Hong Kong
HONG KONG (MarketWatch)--Most Asian stock markets rose Tuesday against the backdrop of a retreat in crude-oil prices, with a weakened yen and strong retail sales lifting Japanese stocks despite a fall in technology shares after Elpida Memory's bankruptcy filing.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.7%, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.9%, China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.2% and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.6%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.1% as poor earnings reports pressured shares of James Hardie Industries SE and Boral Ltd.
"The oil price has pulled back slightly, which is positive. If the oil price is too high, it's detrimental to parts of the economy and the recovery," said Peter Lai, director at DBS Vickers in Hong Kong.
"But investors are waiting for catalysts to go higher and looking for more economic indicators from China," he said.
Retail stocks led Tokyo higher in the afternoon session after a 1.9% year-on-year rise for January retail sales. Fast Retailing added 2.1%, Seven & I Holdings gained 1.1% and Takashimaya rose 1.7%.
The yen's decline against the dollar and the euro spurred many exporters, lifting Fanuc Corp. 2.0%, Nikon 1.9% and Sony 0.7%.
Shares of Nissan Motor dropped 1.1% after saying it would recall 79,275 cars over problems with the vehicles' fuel sensors.
Those gains helped offset weakness in technology stocks after memory chip maker Elpida announced its bankruptcy filing late Monday, due to its inability to restructure or refinance a heavy debt load.
Elpida stock plummeted 24%, also dragging down shares of some other technology shares. Renesas Electronics fell 3.3% and Advantest lost 1.5%.
But Elpida rivals elsewhere gained on hopes investments to boost production capacity will fall, boosting prices. In Seoul, Hynix Semiconductor climbed 6.8%, while Samsung Electronics gained 1.2%.
"We expect Hynix's earnings to show a positive inflection point in the second quarter of 2012 driven by a DRAM price recovery, which should help drive a share price recovery," strategists at Deustche Bank wrote in a research note, maintaining their buy recommendation on Hynix.
Samsung, Hynix and Elpida are the world's three largest DRAM-chip producers.
Several airline stocks in the region rose in the region as crude-oil prices declined. Korean Air Lines gained 3.2% in Seoul, Cathay Pacific Airways rose 5.7% in Hong Kong, Qantas Airways added 1.8% in Sydney and All Nippon Airways rose 0.4% in Tokyo.
Among regional stocks that moved on the back of their earnings reports, Hang Seng Bank rose 5.1% in Hong Kong after posting a 12% gain in 2011 profit.
But index heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC fell 0.7%, tracking the previous day's losses in London, as earnings results overnight showed profit in line with analysts' expectations but costs continuing to rise.
"The result was neutral - it met market expectations, but still some investors are demanding more, and there are too many uncertainties in the euro zone," DBS Vickers's Lai said.
In Sydney, disappointing results from construction-materials provider James Hardie and Boral sent their shares 4.2% and 2.7% lower, respectively.
Among other movers in Australia, Goodman Fielder Ltd. shot up 33% after Singapore-listed Wilmar International Ltd. said it had bought a 10.1% stake in the grocery manufacturer.
Billabong International lost 2.3% after the surf- and snow-wear retailer rejected a sweetened bid from U.S. private-equity firm TPG Capital.
Property shares sagged on mainland Chinese bourses, meanwhile, coinciding with Credit Suisse research citing cuts in prices and pressure on profits. Among the major names, China Vanke Co. fell 0.7% in Shenzhen, while Gemdale Corp. dropped 0.7% in Shanghai.
-Dow Jones Newswires; +65-6415-4140; markettalk@dowjones.com
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