Asian stocks end on slight gains


Korea's stock market led the way with a gain of 2.7 percent, on the back of big-name, big-cap stocks such as Samsung

HONG KONG, China -- Asian stocks rose across the board on Tuesday, led by South Korea's surge.

Japan closed on small gains, while Hong Kong ran up close to 2 percent. Trade in Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand all ended on positive ground.

Around Asia, only markets in Malaysia and the Philippines were trading in the red as the business day came to an end.

The Nikkei 225 average rose close to 1 percent in the morning but gave back most of that in the afternoon, ending up 0.22 percent at 9,620.69.

Banks sink in Japan

The Topix index nudged ahead 0.13 percent to 945.63 as a slightly weaker yen eased pressure on large exporters and manufacturers.

NTT DoCoMo also locked in a rise, ending a run of six down days. DoCoMo closed up 1.19 percent at 256,000 yen, with parent NTT losing 1.44 percent to 480,000 yen.


Bank stocks sagged by the close, leaving the Tokyo market with only narrow gains that didn't match the U.S. showing

There was tech buying too, with computer maker NEC locking in a 3.86 percent rise to 672 yen.

Big banks such as Mizuho Holdings, down 1.59 percent to 247,000 yen, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., off 0.16 percent to 609 yen, robbed Tokyo trade of its momentum.

All the Big Four ended in the red. Banks were also unwrapping some of their cross-holdings in their clients, generating a little selling pressure.

The weaker yen helped carmakers Honda, Nissan and Toyota all post gains. Mazda climbed 3.36 percent to 308 yen.

The yen now stands at 118.94 to the U.S. dollar in early European trade out of Germany.

Kospi runs ahead in Seoul

South Korea's Kospi outdid U.S. gains of Monday. The Kospi ended up 2.66 percent at 736.70.

Samsung Electronics, the largest listing, fired ahead 3.9 percent to 346,000 won. It is still buying back shares.

Land-line company KT Corp. saw its stock jump 4.2 percent to 52,500 won as President Lee Yong-kyung said the company was considering buying back stock and relaxing a limit on overseas ownership.

Steelmaker POSCO turned around Monday's decline and more, climbing 4.5 percent to 117,000 won.

Despite Korea's gains, Asian stocks generally did not generate much traction from a strong showing on Wall Street on Monday.

A rally on Wall Street saw both the Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq put on more than 2.4 percent.(Full Story)

Taiwan up on techs

Taiwan's Taiex ended Tuesday up 0.64 percent at 4,919.26. TSMC rose 1.87 percent to T$54.50, with rival UMC up 1.94 percent to T$31.60.

Those two stocks, the largest in Taipei, account for around 15 percent of its capitalization.

Techs were where the action centered, with the tech subindex up 0.81 percent.

But Nanya Tech ended unchanged and rival memory chipmaker Winbond Electronics fell 1.35 percent to T$21.90, ending strong gains generated by a price increase from Samsung Electronics.

Australia's big caps rise

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index ended up 0.91 percent at 3,176.7. News Corp. locked in a 1.61 percent gain to A$10.75.

Mining stocks put in a strong showing, with BHP Billiton up 2.32 percent to A$9.28. Rio Tinto added 2.64 percent to A$32.70. WMC jumped 5.21 percent to A$7.68.

Retailer Woolworths ran up 1.83 percent to A$12.77.

Airline Qantas rose again, putting on 0.86 percent to A$4.69 before trading was halted. It is due to report its results Wednesday.(full story)

Bionic ear maker Cochlear climbed 1.3 percent to A$38.00 after posting profits that were up 29 percent.

In Wellington, New Zealand's Top 40 index gained 0.33 percent to 2,043.36. Telecom New Zealand fell 0.2 percent to NZ$5.04.

Natural Gas Corp. rose 1.6 percent to NZ$1.24 after posting a return to profitability (full story).

Hong Kong shakes jobless rate

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed up 1.57 percent at 10,408.01. The market shook off the city's record jobless rate.

The government said after the end of trade Monday that rate reached 7.8 percent for the May-July period (full story).

The overnight U.S. stock gains boosted major exporters such as Li & Fung, up 4.65 percent to HK$9.00.

Broadcaster TVB enjoyed a heady run, surging 9.05 percent to HK$25.90, after Li Ka-shing's Tom.com scrapped plans to buy into rival ATV.

Tom.com lost 1.75 percent to end at HK$2.80. The company said it hadn't been given sufficient access to private ATV's books (full story).

Christmas tree maker Boto International fell 3.32 percent to 30 Hong Kong cents, after shareholders approved the sale of most of its business to a shell company owned by Carlyle Group (full story).

Singapore's Straits Times index is up 0.38 percent at 1,539.17 heading into the close.

Computer parts maker Creative Technology went into afternoon trade with strong gains, as did Singapore Airlines, up 4.3 percent to S$12.20.