Asian stock markets, excluding Japan, rose, bringing the regional index to its highest level in the last five months. Consumer product companies stand out. Conversely, Japanese stocks declined because they were weighed down by strong growth in the yen.
On the stocks front, David Jones Ltd, Australia's largest department store chain by market value, rose 23% after accepting a takeover offer from South African Woolworths Holdings. Nissan Motor, the automaker that gets 79 percent of sales outside Japan, slipped 2,8 percent.
Shipping operator Mitsui OSK Lines contracted 5,8% in Tokyo on convertible bond sales.
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index gained 0,8% to trade at 481.92 as of 9:43am in Hong Kong. At least three stocks were up for each one down. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0,7% to approach its best close since last January. The measure rebounded by 12% yesterday, after entering the "bear" market on March 20 last year.
“Under the surface, the recovery is bigger than most investors think,” said Thomas Thygesen, head of cross-asset strategy at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken in Hong Kong. “There is a clear sign that China is backing away from credit tightening, a major source of concern at the start of the year. This is one of the key elements that will keep the global economy moving forward this year."
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0,7% and Taiwan's Taiex was up 0,3%. The South Korean Kospi (+0,1%), the New Zealand NZX 50 (+0,6%), the Singaporean Straits Times (+0,1%) and the Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index (+1%) also increased %).
Going against the trend, as mentioned, the Japanese Topix was down 1,7% on a day when the yen traded at 101,88 against the dollar. MSCI Asia Pacific including Japan was down 0,1% to 138.51.
