Asian stocks mostly up, Nikkei extends gains

HONG KONG - Asian markets were mostly higher Wednesday as Tokyo extended a rally after the dollar broke 116 yen for the first time in seven years, while speculation swirls that Japan may put off another unpopular sales tax hike.

Wall Street provided support for buyers again after the Dow and S&P 500 squeezed out another record for a fifth straight session, while investors await the release this week of Chinese indicators and a G20 summit at the weekend.

Tokyo added 0.43 per cent, or 72.94 points, at 17,197.05, Seoul rose 0.22 per cent, or 4.27 points, to close at 1,967.27 and Hong Kong advanced 0.55 per cent, or 129.90 points, to 23,938.18, while Shanghai put on 1.00 per cent, or 24.81 points, to 2,494.48.

However, Sydney gave up 0.98 per cent, or 54.0 points, to close at 5,463.1.

Japanese shares have surged almost 12 per cent since the end of October, helped by the Bank of Japan's decision to widen its monetary easing, which sent the yen plunging.

They were given fresh momentum Wednesday as investors digested speculation that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is mulling a delay to a sales tax hike as the economy struggles to overcome the impact of a rise in April.

The increase seven months ago has been blamed for throwing a tentative economic recovery into reverse and threatens another technical recession.

Japan election talk

Major Japanese newspapers reported Wednesday that Abe may call a snap election next month if he decides to put off the second tax hike.

His ruling coalition would be likely to win the election, which would be greeted positively by the stock market and trigger fresh yen-selling, analysts said.

In foreign exchange deals, the dollar was at 115.38 yen against 115.74 yen in New York, where it at one point topped 116 yen for the first time since October 2007.

The euro jumped to 144.06 yen, compared with 144.38 yen in US trade, while it also bought $1.2485 against $1.2474.

"Speculation about the sales tax deferment is going to cause the currency markets to be volatile for a while, and that could result in more stock market volatility as well," said Masayuki Doshida, senior market analyst at Rakuten Securities.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended higher, adding 0.01 per cent, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.07 per cent, both posting record closes for five straight sessions. The Nasdaq added 0.19 per cent.

Oil prices slipped. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for December delivery fell 59 cents to $77.35 while Brent crude for December was down 70 cents at $80.97.

Gold was at $1,163.87 an ounce, compared with $1,151.05 late Tuesday.

In other markets: - Mumbai advanced 0.35 per cent, or 98.84 points, to end at 28,008.90.

Axis Bank rose 3.02 per cent to 480.90 rupees, while pharmaceutical major Cipla fell 3.06 per cent to 618.50 rupees.

- Bangkok fell 0.58 per cent, or 9.17 points, to 1,562.03.

Bangkok Life Assurance lost 6.64 per cent to 52.75 baht, while Bangchak Petroleum dropped 2.14 per cent to 34.25 baht.

- Jakarta closed 0.33 per cent higher, or 16.56 points, at 5,048.84.

Cement maker Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa gained 1.08 per cent to 23,425 rupiah and cigarette maker Gudang Garam rose 0.04 per cent to 60,275 rupiah.

- Singapore closed down 0.26 per cent, or 8.44 points, to 3,283.71.

Oil rig maker Keppel Corp fell 1.06 per cent to Sg$9.31 while vehicle distributor Jardine Cycle & Carriage declined 0.25 per cent to Sg$40.34.

Kuala Lumpur fell 8.87 points, or 0.49 per cent, to close at 1,816.24.

AMMB Holdings went down 2.0 per cent to 6.36 ringgit while Maybank lost 1.43 per cent to 9.65. Tenaga Nasional gained 1.98 per cent to 13.40 ringgit.

- Taipei fell 1.28 per cent, or 115.19 points, to 8,918.95.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. lost 1.49 per cent to end at Tw$132.0 while Acer was 1.23 per cent lower at Tw$20.0.

- Wellington was flat, edging down 2.90 points to 5,487.88.

Fletcher Building closed 1.40 per cent off at NZ$8.45 and Spark eased 0.15 per cent to NZ$3.24.

- Manila closed 0.39 per cent higher, adding 28.32 points to 7,232.87.

Bloomberry Resorts climbed 2.90 per cent to 13.50 pesos and GT Capital was 1.84 per cent up at 1,052.00 pesos, while Ayala Land advanced 1.73 per cent to 35.35 pesos.