Market Update
Asian indexes were trading on either side of the flatline Tuesday with Japanese equities drawing support from a softer yen ahead of a decision by Bank of Japan.
The Nikkei gained 0.9% at 11:30 a.m. Tokyo time. The Bank of Japan was scheduled to issue a statement at the end of its two-day policy meeting later today.
The Shanghai Composite, on the other hand, was down 0.5% while the Hang Seng slipped 0.2% after reports said the country's central bank mopped up 48 billion yuan from the money market on Tuesday through bond-repurchase agreements.
Australia's All Ordinaries was flat as investors reacted to some corporate results. Meanwhile, minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's last policy meeting showed the bank was in favour of maintain "a period of stability in interest rates". The RBA had kept the cash rate at a record low of 2.5% at its February policy meeting.
Mumbai's Sensex also flattish at open, after the country's finance minister announced the interim budget yesterday.
Stocks on the Move
The yen's weakness against the dollar and euro spurred ahead of the BoJ statement some buying in export-focussed shares in Tokyo.
Nintendo jumped 4%, Sumco Corp. bounced 5% and Konami Corp. surged 6.8%. Renesas Electronics Corp. soared over 10% amid reports the company plans to make advanced chips for cars.
Supermarket chain operator Aeon Co. Ltd was 0.5% higher after the company said it is building more shopping malls in China.
Financials in Hong Kong were mostly weak following the central bank liquidity data.
Largest lender ICBC slipped 0.4%, Agricultural Bank of China gave up 0.3% while Bank of Communications erased 0.6%.
China Citic Bank Corp. lost 0.5% despite posting 26.2% higher net profit for 2013.
Property developers were on the downside too. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. lost over 2% and China Resources Land retreated 1.4%.
Mainland listed metal players were lacklustre, weighing on the benchmark index -- Jiangxi Copper declined 2% while Zhongjin Gold Co. Ltd. fell 2.6%.
Jewellery maker Goldleaf Jewellery Co. shone 10% after announcing plans to acquire a Texas-based oil and gas operator for around $665 million, in a bid to diversify into overseas energy markets.
Sydney-listed gold diggers posted heavy losses, despite a rise in gold futures on the commodity index.
Perseus Mining plunged nearly 7%, Medusa Mining tumbled 4.5% while Newcrest Mining was 1.8% lower.
Other miners were modestly higher. Index leader BHP Billiton rose 2% after posting better-than-expected first-half results.
Rio Tinto was 1.5% higher while Fortescue Metals Group gained 2.8%.
In other stock-specific moves, Amcor Ltd. lost 4.5% after reporting lower fiscal first-half profit, while Coca-Cola Amatil declined around 5% after the company said its $367 million write-off at its packaged foods unit resulted in record low profits since 1992.
In Mumbai, stocks opened on a cautious note tracking mixed overseas cues. On the upside, BHEL added over a percent, while Hindustan Unilever, Hero MotoCorp., SBI and Tata Steel tacked on around a percent each.