Asia stocks advance ahead of EU summit; Nikkei jumps 2.3%
Investing.com
Published Nov 29, 2011 02:42AM ET
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.3%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index gained 1.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.3%.
Finance ministers from the 17 European Union member states were to meet in Brussels later in the day to discuss the region's financial crisis and ways to boost the firepower of the European Financial Stability Facility, the region’s bailout fund.
Shares in the financial sector were higher in Japan. Investment banks Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities, which have large exposure to European sovereign debt, jumped 2.5% and 4.1% respectively, while the nation’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 1.55%.
Japanese exporters performed strongly as the yen weakened to the lowest level in three weeks against the U.S. dollar, boosting the outlook for export earnings.
Consumer electronics giant Sony saw shares gain 2.15%, digital camera maker Canon climbed 2.25%, while automakers Nissan and Honda saw shares rise 2.65% and 3.55% respectively.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, shares in lenders led markets higher, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shares rallying 3.25% and Hong Kong-listed shares of Europe’s biggest bank HSBC Holdings jumping 3.2%
Raw material producers also contributed to gains, tracking commodity prices higher. Jiangxi Copper Company saw shares rise 3.3%, gold producer Zijin Mining Group surged 7.1%, while oil and gas giant PetroChina added 1.1%.
Hong Kong-based retailers were broadly higher, building on the previous day’s strong gains. Shares of Li & Fung, which is the world’s biggest supplier of toys to major U.S. retailers, advanced 2.25%, while shares in Esprit Holdings, which counts Europe as its largest market rallied 5%.
Meanwhile, the outlook for European stock markets was mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a modest loss of 0.05%, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.2%, the FTSE 100 futures edged 0.15% higher, while Germany's DAX futures dipped 0.15%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on house price inflation as well as a report on consumer confidence.
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Written By: Investing.com
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