MW: Asia stocks mostly down; China up on reform hopes
By Daniel Inman
Chinese stocks moved higher Wednesday on financial reform hopes, while Japan pared some of its earlier losses as the yen weakened in Asian trade.
The Shanghai Composite CN:SHCOMP +0.82% added 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HK:HSI +0.70% rose 0.5%, after the head of China’s central bank assured the market of more financial reforms, including free deposit rates and a more flexible currency. People’s Bank of China head Zhou Xiaochuan also said that China will allow more foreign institutions to invest in the domestic stock and bond markets
“These remarks show that China’s moving toward its goal of making the economy more market oriented,” said Zeng Xianzhao, analyst at Everbright Securities.
The U.S. dollar stabilized against the yen USDJPY +0.31% in Asia, after losing 0.4% Tuesday. It was last at ¥101.52, compared with ¥101.27 late Tuesday in New York. In recent weeks the greenback has enjoyed a strong winning streak against its Japanese counterpart, going as high as ¥101.92 Monday — a six-month high.
Japanese stocks JP:NIK -0.42% took their direction from the currency, initially falling earlier in the day on the stronger yen, but paring some of its losses as the dollar pushed back. Tokyo shares were last down 0.3% but up 7.9% month-to-date. With only two more trading sessions in November, the Japanese stock market looks likely to post one of its best months for the year.
“Foreign investor participation is starting to dry up ahead of the Thursday U.S. holiday, taking steam out of the market,” said Hideyuki Ishiguro, strategist at Okasan Securities.
Across the region, trading was mostly quiet ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday Thursday. Stocks were little changed as Asia was given little guidance from the U.S., where Wall Street ended Tuesday steady.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 AU:XJO -0.45% was down 0.2%, with gold miners falling after a steep fall in bullion prices. Newcrest Mining AU:NCM -4.07% — Australia’s largest gold miner — hit its lowest level in a decade, and was last down 4.3%.
South Korea’s Kospi KR:SEU +0.31% dropped 0.2% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index SG:STI -0.19% also lost 0.2%.
The Australian dollar AUDUSD +0.04% extended its fall against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, dropping to 91.11 U.S. cents. The currency has been under pressure since last week when Reserve Bank of Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens said he was “open-minded” on the question of intervention, which created speculation that action to drive the currency lower was imminent.
In Japan, a number of companies were reacting to corporate news. Panasonic Corp. JP:6752 +3.46% PCRFF +0.02% rose 3.8% after a Nikkei report said that the company plans to sell three semiconductor plants in Japan to Israeli chip maker TowerJazz.
Also in Tokyo, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. JP:5401 -0.91% was flat, outperforming the broader benchmark, after a Nikkei report said that the firm will team up with ArcelorMittal FR:MT -1.33% MT -0.36% to acquire an automotive steel-sheet plant in the U.S. from ThyssenKrupp DE:TKA +0.10% TYEKF +1.53% .
