Market Update
The Nikkei led gains for the Asian markets Wednesday.
The Nikkei gained 1%. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.6% while the Hang Seng moved up 0.3%. The Sensex added 0.5% while the All Ordinaries put on 0.3%.
Data earlier today in Australia showed approvals to build new homes fell more-than-expected last week to a seasonally adjusted 5% from 6.9% in the preceding week.
Stocks on the Move
Renesas Electronics surged 6% after a report the company may sell its chip-making unit for smartphone displays. Renesas responded in a statement saying the report was not based on something it had previously announced but they were considering various options for the unit.
Auto stocks were smartly higher on a combination of some upbeat sales figures in the U.S. and a weak yen. Toyota gained slightly over half a percent while Honda and Nissan were up about 1.2% and 1.5% each, respectively. Mazda revved up 2.8%. Fuji Heavy Industries gained 2.9%, helped by a 21% increase in sales of its Subaru brand.
Other exporters also ended mostly higher.
Kyushu Electric dropped 5% on a Nikkei report that said the utility is in talks with the Development Bank of Japan to secure a 100 billion yen investment.
Property stocks advanced in Hong Kong and on the mainland. Poly Real Estate was up 7% in Shanghai after it said late Monday its 2013 net income and revenue increased 27% and 34% each, respectively.
The Sensex hit yet another lifetime high with Airtel the top gainer on the Sensex, up 3.3%. Tata Motors gained 2.6%.
SBI was up 2.1% while Cipla and ONGC rose 2% each, respectively.
L&T, RIL, ICICI Bank, HDFC, and Tata Power all gained in a range between 1% and 1.9%.
The broader market was boosted by the Election Commission’s decision to allow the Reserve Bank of India to announce new bank licenses before the general elections.
Axis Bank was down 0.2% after the regulator said foreign institutional investors, or FII’s, will not be allowed to buy more shares in the lender as the total holding by FII’s had already breached the overall limit of 49%.
In Sydney, breads and spreads maker Goodman Fielder plunged over 22% after the company issued a profit warning.
BHP Billiton was up about a percent.