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Banks take Japan to higher close
TOKYO, Japan -- Asian markets closed broadly higher on Thursday, powered by Tokyo's strong run after a rally on Wall Street. Japanese banks locked in double-digit gains, led by Mizuho Holdings' 18 percent surge. Tech counters such as Toshiba, Fujitsu, Sony and Canon also led the charge in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 average jumped almost 2.5 percent to 8,668.06. The broader capital-weighted Topix index put on 2.05 percent to 847.85. Other markets in the region showed more modest gains, with South Korea's Kospi up 1.23 percent to 690.38. Singapore's Straits Times is up about 0.75 percent near the close and Hong Kong is ahead about 0.6 percent. Australia showed a gain of half a percent, but Taiwan's Taiex dipped 1.6 percent to 4579.45 and New Zealand's NZSE Top 40 lost 0.6 percent to 1948.08. Strong U.S. showingUnderpinning the gains in Asia was a strong close Wednesday from Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 1.75 percent to 8,623.01 and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite put on a healthy 3.26 percent to 1,419.35. (Full story) Wednesday's rally in the U.S. was followed by a strong fourth-quarter profit statement after the bell from Hewlett-Packard. That saw shares in the computer and printer maker jump almost nine percent in after-hours trade. (Full story) The yen is a little weaker against the U.S. dollar Thursday, trading at 122.33 in Asia. A firmer dollar boosts the yen of overseas sales for Japanese exporters. "The weaker yen is giving exporters a boost, and a strong earnings statement from Hewlett Packard has brightened the outlook for techs," Reiko Nakayama of Marusan Securities told Reuters. Toshiba, Japan's largest chipmaker, finished up 3.57 percent to 348 yen and computer giant Fujitsu rose 7.73 percent to 390 yen. There were even stronger gains for Mitsubishi Electric, up 8.49 percent to 294 yen, and NEC, up 8.2 percent to 474 yen. Telco stocks were firmer, too, with mobile phone leader NTT DoCoMo up 3.7 percent to 224,000 yen and KDDI up 2.87 percent to 358,000 yen. Japan Telecom put on almost 6.8 percent to 378,000 yen. Banks show big gains
Banks showed big gains after media reports suggesting the sector may accelerate disposal of more than 52 billion yen ($424 million) in bad loans, traders said. Mizuho Holdings, the world's biggest bank by assets, surged 18.18 percent to 130,000 yen, a gain matched by fifth-ranked Resona Holdings, up 10 yen to 65 yen. UFJ Holdings closed 11 percent higher at 101,000 yen, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp put on 16.7 percent to 419 yen and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group rose 11.36 percent to 755,000 yen. Big automakers finished slightly lower, save for a 3.5 percent gain by Mitsubishi Motors. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics, now one of the world's biggest mobile phone makers, rose 2.5 percent to 369,000 won after unveiling a new 3G model for Europe. (Full story) Fund favorite SK Telecom was up about 1.04 percent to 243,500 won. LG Electronics was 3 percent higher and Hyundai Motor rose about 1.34 percent to 30,300 won. But fixed-line telco KT Corp ended flat and steel giant Posco weakened 1.3 percent. In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 finished 0.47 percent higher at 3021.9. Market heavyweight News Corp was among the biggest gainers, up 3.5 percent to A$12.15. Retailer Coles Myer closed down 0.94 percent to A$6.33 after dissident director Solomon Lew was dumped at the company's annual general meeting on Wednesday. (Full story) MIM in takeover talks
Diversified industrial group Brambles finished in big trouble, down almost 30 percent to A$4.33 after a shock profit warning that wiped A$2.3 billion from its market value. (Full story) But miner MIM had a happier day, putting on 21.6 percent to A$1.52 after confirming it is in talks with Swiss group Xstrata about a possible takeover. (Full story) Hong Kong stocks are broadly higher, with strong gains by China Mobile, China Unicom and newcomer China Telecom. Big bank HSBC is also head, but PCCW is in the red after early gains following its announcemnt of more job cuts late Wednesday. In Singapore, big banks DBS, OCBC and UOB are leading the gains, up more than 1.5 percent. Taiwan's biggest stock, chip foundy TSMC, rose 1.74 percent to T$46.90. But smaller rival UMC ended flat at $25.40. Industrial stocks lost ground, with Formosa Plastic, Nan Ya Plastic and Formosa Chemical & Fiber among the prominent losers. Reuters contributed to this report.
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