Asia stocks higher on Apple results; Nikkei gains 0.95%

Investing.com - Asian stock markets were broadly higher on Wednesday, as market sentiment was boosted by blowout earnings at U.S. tech giant Apple while investors eyed a statement from the Federal Reserve later in the day.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased down 0.15%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 0.95%, while Australia’s ASX/200 Index remained closed for a public holiday.

Market sentiment was boosted after Apple reported that fiscal second quarter earnings surged 93%, largely on a huge jump in sales of the iPhone. Revenue rose 59% to USD39.2 billion.

The consumer electronics maker reported iPhone shipments of 35.1 million units, easily surpassing market estimates in the range of 31 million to 33 million for the period.

The upbeat results boosted Japanese technology stocks. Advantest jumped 2.5%, Ibiden shares gained 1.1%, while Murata Manufacturing, an electronic parts maker that supplies capacitors for the iPhone, added 0.65%.   

Meanwhile, shares in digital camera maker Canon advanced 1.1%, as investors positioned themselves in the stock ahead of the company’s earnings report after the closing bell.

Financials gained ground ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting later in the week. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 1.3%. Daiwa Securities advanced 2.3% while Nomura Holdings rose 2.7%.

The Nikkei rallied more than 19% in the first three months of the year, buoyed in large part by an unexpected easing announcement by the Bank of Japan in February, but the index has fallen nearly 5.5% since the start of April.

Most traders expect the correction to continue until the end of the month, when the BoJ meets for its April policy meeting, amid expectations the central bank will implement new easing measures.

Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that he BOJ is likely to ease monetary policy on Friday by boosting asset purchases by up to JPY10 trillion and in doing so may extend the maturity of government bonds it targets to around three years.

Elsewhere, shares in Hong Kong swung between modest gains and losses throughout most of the session.

Trading volumes were light according to market participants as traders stuck to the sidelines ahead of a number of key corporate earnings later in the week.

Financial sector stocks and property developers were mixed, with China Overseas Land and Investment climbing 2.4% and index heavyweight HSBC Holdings gaining 0.8%, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.8% and Sino Land shares fell 0.7%.

Gains in exports with high exposure to Europe provided support, with Esprit Holdings up 0.9% and Cosco Pacific gaining 1.65%, while Li & Fung shares climbed 1.2%.

On the downside, shares in internet giant Tencent Holdings tumbled 4% as investors sold the stocks to lock in gains from an almost 50% run-up since the start of the year after a downbeat outlook from Chinese rival Baidu.

Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly upbeat, as investors eyed a speech by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and a statement from the Federal Reserve later in the day, while concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis remained.

The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 futures dipped 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 futures added 0.2%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to 0.3% increase.

Later in the day, ECB President Draghi was to testify before the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Committee, in Brussels.

In the U.S., government data was to be released on durable goods orders and crude oil stockpiles. The Federal Reserve was to announce its benchmark interest rate and release its rate statement.