Market Update
Asian markets rose Wednesday but the Nikkei bucked the trend as the Japanese currency rallied overnight.
The Nikkei fell 2.1%. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.2% while the Hang Seng was up 0.8%. The Sensex was up 0.3% while the All Ordinaries rose a percent.
The yen traded at 102.03 to the dollar, up 0.2% at the time of writing. The currency gained after comments from BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda dismissing the need for additional monetary easing.
In Australia, data showed the number of new home loans granted rose more-than-expected last month.
Data also showed consumer confidence was up with the Westpac-Melbourne Institute’s monthly consumer sentiment index ticking up 30 basis points to 99.7.
Stocks on the Move
Exporters were expectedly lower in Tokyo with index heavyweight Sony falling 3.3%. In auto names, Mazda reversed 3.5% while Toyota and Suzuki were down 3.4% and 4% each, respectively.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals was down 1.6%. The company said it will fight the jury decision in the U.S. fining it punitive damages of $6 billion. Daiichi Sankyo was down 3.7%.
Softbank was among the few gainers; up half a percent on speculation the company could turn its attention to Vodafone, with the merger of its Sprint unit with T-Mobile in the U.S. looking more and more unlikely.
Yahoo Japan Corp. was up 2.8%. A Nikkei newspaper said the company will start using China’s Alipay as an option for its shopping site.
In Hong Kong, Tencent gained 2.4%.
Real estate shares advanced after companies revealed increased sales in March. Agile Property gained 1.9% while Evergrande Real Estate was up 0.8%.
In Mumbai, Sun Pharma extended gains and was the top gainer on the Sensex, up 6.2%.
Hindalco was up 4.2%, followed by Tata Motors, up 3.1%, and Tata Steel, up 2.1%.
Shares of Aussie department store major David Jones shot up 22.6% after the company said it had received a AUD2.15 billion takeover bid from South Africa’s Woolworths Holdings. David Jones said its board is recommending shareholders accept the offer which represents a 25% premium to its closing share price on Tuesday.
Other retailers were also higher with Myer Holdings up 4.8%. Myer had an earlier bid rejected by David Jones.
Worleyparsons was up 6.7% after the company said it is restructuring into three divisions even as it would take a charge of A$35 million in the process.