Asian stocks surge to higher close


Japan's government put off a sale of Japan Tobacco stock because of sliding stocks, but the market surged on Tuesday

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks surged ahead on Tuesday, underpinned by another historic run on Wall Street.

Japan's Nikkei and Korea's Kospi indexes both gained around 3.4 percent, taking the Nikkei above 10,000 again. Taiwan gained 3 percent.

Losers were few and far between, Australia and Hong Kong both locking in solid moves north. Singapore is trading up almost 1 percent heading into the close.

Stocks started higher after a heady day's trade in the United States. The Dow Jones industrial average stormed up 447 points on Monday, its third-biggest one-day point gain on record.

That was a gain of 5.4 percent. Nasdaq outdid that, with a run of 5.79 percent. The S&P 500 rose 5.41 percent (full U.S. roundup).

Nikkei breaks 10,000

Asian markets did not match those leaps. But the Nikkei did rise 3.49 percent to 10,003.72.

The Topix index of all Section 1 stocks climbed 2.42 percent to 974.96.

The yen continues to help major exporters, with the currency weakening through the 120 mark against the dollar during the day.


Korean investors saw big-cap plays like SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics race ahead on the back of U.S. gains

It has strengthened slightly and stands at 119.78 in early European trade.

Companies that look overseas for sales performed well. Japan Airlines, the country's main international carrier, climbed 4.47 percent to 327 yen.

Toyota Motor surged 5.40 percent to 2,930 yen. Smaller rival Nissan leaped 7.74 percent to 863 yen.

Honda's gain was more muted, 1.79 percent to 5,110 yen, despite its record earnings released after the bell the day before (full story).

Hitachi up ahead of earnings

On the earnings front, Hitachi posted a gain of 4.47 percent to 701 yen, as it posted an 8.0 billion yen ($66.9 million) loss, improved from a 34.0 billion yen loss the same time last year.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. rose 3.27 percent to 632 yen, as Japan's second-biggest bank group said it will set up a holding company to centralize operations.

Former monopoly telecom NTT rose 1.02 percent to 494,000 yen, after it raised its estimate on parent net profit for the year (full story).

But most of the expected gain stems from selling stock in NTT DoCoMo. The gain will not boost group profits.

NTT DoCoMo lifted 1.49 percent to 273,000 yen, after ripping ahead 8.9 percent the day before.

Japan Tobacco shares were some of the only decliners, JT falling 1.75 percent to 786,000 yen on word the government will defer its plan to sell down its stake in the company (full story).

Big-caps well ahead in Seoul

Elsewhere in Asia, only some minor markets such as Sri Lanka were bleeding red ink.


Japan posted an unemployment rate that still stands at 5.4 percent, as the economy works out of recession

Korea closed solidly in the black, the Kospi pushing up 3.39 percent to 724.08. There were strong tech gains amid some skepticism about how long the rally would last.

Chipmaker Samsung Electronics enjoyed a 2.5 percent run to 333,000 won. Cell-phone service SK Telecom drove up 3.5 percent to 237,000 won.

Korea's biggest bank, Kookmin Bank, gained 5.3 percent to 56,100 won. Investors did not balk at the bank's 5.7 percent fall in first-half net profit from Monday.

Kia Motors Corp. rose 6.4 percent to 10,800 won despite U.S. regulators opening a investigation into its Sephia and Sportage vehicles there because seat belts may not work as intended.

UMC up ahead of earnings in Taiwan

Taiwan's Taiex seized a 3.02 percent gain, ending at 5,005.04. United Microelectronics ran up 4.72 percent to T$33.30, arresting two days of heavy losses.

After the bell, UMC posted earnings that missed analyst expectations. It had already been buffeted by the earnings of larger rival TSMC on Friday.

Flat-screen maker Au Optronics jumped the seven percent daily limit for a one-day move in Taiwan, to T$31.20.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 index locked in a 1.6 percent run, to 3,083.8. Most big-caps climbed, with National Australia Bank up 3.8 percent to A$32.54.

BHP and Steel spinoff up

Mining stocks put in a strong showing, Rio Tinto climbing 3.7 percent to A$33.50. BHP Billiton almost matched it, up A$3.6 percent to A$9.48.

New listing BHP Steel climbed 1.1 percent to A$2.73 but is still under its mid-July offer priced of A$2.80.

Bionic-ear maker Cochlear rocketed ahead 14.4 percent to A$33.40, after a meningitis scare at a competitor.

But telecom company Telstra gave back some of Monday's gain with a 1.2 percent decline to A$4.82.

New Zealand's Top 40 index gained 0.98 percent to 2,006.67. Telecom New Zealand added 1.46 percent to NZ$4.85.

Cathay flies up in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 1.8 percent to 10,155.25. Airline Cathay Pacific thrust ahead 6.67 percent to HK$12.05.

Small-motor maker Johnson Electric also had a good gain, up 5.62 percent to HK$8.40 on improved sentiment toward its main market, the United States.

The market's largest listing, HSBC, climbed 1.15 percent to HK$87.75. But the Bank of China again closed below its HK$8.50 offering price, slumping 0.59 percent to HK$8.40.

Singapore stocks are also up heading toward the close. The Straits Times index is up 0.91 percent at 1,520.12 in late trade.

Creative Technology and banks such as DBS Group are underpinning that rise.