Asian stocks rose broadly on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as oil prices rebounded and worries about the timing of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike eased. The yen weakened and Chinese stocks surged to fresh seven-year highs on stimulus hopes, helping bring back positive sentiment as investors returned from the Easter holiday break.
Chinese shares extended recent gains as investors braced for the quarterly earnings season. Banks led the gainers, with Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China rising 2-3 percent after China relaxed rules for the sale of asset-backed securities. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index climbed 2.52 percent to 3,961.38, a fresh seven-year high. Hong Kong’s stock market was closed for a holiday.
Japanese shares rose to close near a two-week high, with sentiment underpinned by a positive lead from Wall Street and a weaker yen. The safe-haven currency fell to a 4-day low of 119.80 against the greenback as U.S. rate hike worries receded. The benchmark Nikkei average climbed 242.56 points or 1.25 percent to 19,640.54, its highest level since March 25, while the broader Topix index advanced 1.14 percent to close at 1,578.55.
Energy stocks rose, with Inpex Corp and JX Holdings rising more than 4 percent each after oil prices surged to their biggest gain in nearly two months. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan’s largest bank, rallied 3.1 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rose 1.3 percent and Mizuho Financial added Group 1.5 percent.
Australian shares pared early gains after the Reserve Bank of Australia left its cash rate unchanged at a record low of 2.25 percent, disappointing some who had expected the cash rate to be cut to 2.00 percent. However, policymakers said further easing may be appropriate over the period ahead in order to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation consistent with the target.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose more than a percent to hit a two-week high early in the session before paring gains to end the session up 0.46 percent at 5,925.97. Big banks ended mixed, with ANZ, Westpac and NAB rising between 0.3 percent and 1.7 percent, while Commonwealth slipped 0.2 percent. Mining giant BHP Billiton advanced 0.8 percent and Rio Tinto gained 0.7 percent despite further weakness in the iron ore price.
Smaller rival Fortescue Metals dropped 1.4 percent as Group founder and chairman, Andrew Forrest, hit out at short sellers, saying attempts to force him to sell his 33 percent stake in the company would prove futile. Atlas Iron suspended its shares from trading after launching an extensive review of its operations, finances, and possible asset sale opportunities.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining closed 1.1 percent higher after gold prices rose to their highest level in nearly two months due to uncertainty about the timing of a U.S. interest rate hike. In the oil sector, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Santos closed up between 0.6 percent and 2.2 percent. Oil prices jumped over 5 percent on Monday after Saudi Arabia said it is raising the price of crude oil it ships to Asia.
Construction giant Leighton Holdings gained 1.5 percent on winning a $608 million contract to build five concrete reservoirs in Qatar. Breville Group shares rose 0.4 percent. The kitchen appliance maker announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, Jim Clayton, ending its seven-month search.
In economic releases, Australian retail sales rose 0.7 percent in February from a month earlier, beating forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent following the upwardly revised 0.5 percent gain in January, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed. The increase marks the third straight monthly gain.
Separately, a survey by the Australian Industry Group revealed that expansion in Australia’s services sector slowed to a veritable crawl in March, with a Performance of Service Index score of 50.2, down sharply from 51.7 in February.
Seoul shares ended little changed, with the benchmark Kospi average inching up 0.6 point or 0.03 percent to finish at 2,047.03. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell half a percent. The tech giant saw its operating profit rebound in the first quarter amid firm chip sales and a pickup in the smartphone sector.
New Zealand shares rose along with regional peers. The benchmark NZX-50 index gained 0.41 percent to close at 5,855.44. Summerset Group Holdings climbed 3 percent as the retirement village operator posted record first-quarter sales.
Stock market operator NZX rose 1.8 percent. The Wellington-based company said its volume and value of cash trading on New Zealand’s stock market has risen for the second consecutive month. Among top losers, Casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group lost a percent and milk marketing firm A2 Milk Co dropped 1.8 percent.
India’s Sensex was declining 0.7 percent after the Reserve Bank maintained status quo on key rates and also kept the CRR unchanged in its first bi-monthly monetary policy. Elsewhere, the benchmark indexes in Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia were up between 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent.
U.S. stocks rebounded from initial losses to end notably higher on Monday as last week’s disappointing jobs data and signs of slowing growth in the services sector raised hopes about a delayed interest rate hike. The Dow and the S&P 500 rose about 0.7 percent each, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.6 percent. The U.S. markets were closed on Friday, when the crucial jobs report was released.
