Nikkei: 10,071.14 (–11.34) Hang Seng: 22,530.18 (+12.63) Shanghai Comp: 2,794.27 (–16.21)MOST ASIAN stocks advanced yesterday, as Chinese financial shares rose after the country raised interest rates, boosting their profit outlook and countering losses by Japanese nuclear-power generators.
“We’ve seen a marked cooling in China’s growth recently and the next reading on inflation should mark a peak,” said Nader Naeimi, a Sydney-based strategist for AMP Capital Investors.
Ping An advanced 0.9 per cent to HK$81.95.
AIA rose 1.7 per cent to HK$27.75, the biggest boost to Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country’s largest listed lender, rose 0.2 per cent to HK$5.79.
Toyota slumped 0.7 per cent to ¥3,400.
Honda, which receives 84 per cent of its sales outside Japan, declined 0.9 per cent to ¥3,215.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing lost 1.7 per cent to NT$71.6 in Taipei.
Samsung Electronics, Korea’s largest company by market capitalization, fell 2 per cent to 880,000 won after posting a drop in profit after flat-screen sales slumped. – (Bloomberg)
