Market Update
Asian markets ended mixed Tuesday as the Nikkei returned from a day off to a positive lead from Wall Street overnight and a weaker yen.
The Nikkei edged up 0.1% at market close. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.3% while the Hang Seng fell 1.4%. The Sensex slipped 0.2% while the All Ordinaries edged up 0.1%.
The Bank of Japan stood pat on its policy decision and also refrained from offering stimulus measures. It maintained an upbeat forecast for the economy and projected for the first time that inflation would exceed 2% roughly two years from now.
Governor Haruhiko Kuroda also said that the effect of the sales tax hike had appeared limited thus far.
Earlier, data showed Japan's industrial production was up 0.3% in March compared with a 2.3% drop in February. However, the outlook for April was disappointing. A survey of Japanese manufacturers showed April's output may drop 1.4% followed by a marginal 0.1% rise in May.
Elsewhere, factory output growth in South Korea missed analysts' estimates.
Stocks on the Move
Japan Display fell 6.3% after the company lowered its annual profit forecast.
Tokyo Electron ended 0.4% lower after results.
TDK Corp. fell 3% despite a higher profit, but the company did provide lower-than-expected guidance.
Also after results, NEC Corp. fell 5.3% while Panasonic was down 0.1%. Panasonic reported results after the market close Monday.
Chubu Electric fell 1.5% after the utility reported wider full-year loss and offered worse-than-expected guidance.
However, some heavyweights kept keeping the index in positive territory with Softbank up half a percent after its U.S. unit Sprint raised its outlook.
KDDI Corp. pared intra-day gains of over 2% and ended just 0.4% higher.
Bellwether Toyota revved up 0.8% while Honda and Nissan advanced 2% and 0.3% each, respectively.
Kyocera shares gained 3.4% after the electronics and solar-panel maker reported forecast-beating earnings.
Nomura Holdings was down 2.7% while Japan Airlines was up 1.3%. Nomura reported results after the market close, revealing an earnings beat. Nomura ADR’s were up 1.4% in U.S. pre-market trading.
In Hong Kong, China Mobile edged up 0.8%, extending gains of over 4% from the previous session. China Unicom also moved up a further 5.7% after closing over 6% higher yesterday.
ICBC and Bank of Communications fell 1.3% and 1.8% each after results. Other lenders also ended with losses.
Aluminum Corporation of China fell 4.5% after reporting a wider loss.
The Sensex gave up all of its gains and ended lower. Tata Power was down 3.5%, followed by BHEL, down 3.2%, and SSLT, down 2.8%.
Tata Motors was up 1.3%. Local media reported the company is beefing up sales and marketing ahead of the twin launches of its Bolt hatchback and Zest compact sedan. The company is set to flag off what it says will be the largest automobile road-show in the country covering 2,400 towns in the next six months.
The broader-market listed Alstom India closed up 11.9% after reports its French parent had agreed to sell its power business to GE for over $12 billion. Alstom T&D India closed up 3.6%.
In Sydney, retailer Woolworths ended 1.9% lower after its results fell short of expectations.
Brambles shares were down 1.3% after the company affirmed its profit outlook.
Among the major miners, BHP Billiton was up 0.4% while Fortescue Metals gained a percent. Rio Tinto was up 0.7%.