Asian Stock Markets
Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday as banks and
financial shares tracked their U.S. counterparts higher, shrugging off
another North Korean missile launch.
The Nikkei share average ended 0.5 percent higher at 22,597.20, while the broader Topix advanced 0.8 percent to 1,786.15.
Japan's Nikkei 225
shrugged off the North's latest missile launch to rise 0.31 percent.
Major exporters were mixed as the dollar held onto overnight gains
against the yen, with automakers mixed, but tech names mostly higher.
Trading houses and financials notched gains.
Retail sales in October declined 0.2 percent compared to one year ago, although the figure remained in line with what was forecast in a Reuters poll. That was the first fall in yearly retail sales in a year, Reuters said.
Across the Korean Strait, the benchmark Kospi index was little changed, trading higher by 0.01 percent as several blue-chip tech names declined. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics lost 1.2 percent while companies that have been sensitive to developments related to the THAAD anti-missile system traded mixed: Lotte Shopping fell 2.11 percent and LG Household and Healthcare advanced 0.08 percent.
Shares of cosmetics names Amorepacific and Cosmax were up 1.29 percent and 4.47 percent, respectively, following news that China would once again let travel agencies resume selling tour packages to South Korea.
Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.43 percent higher, with heavily-weighted financial stocks climbing 0.66 percent. Sector-wise, utilities and retail names traded higher.
Greater China markets came under some pressure. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3 percent.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite shed 0.47 percent and the Shenzhen Composite edged down 0.76 percent. Blue chips sold off on the mainland, with the CSI 300 index down 0.92 percent.
Meanwhile, MSCI's broad index of shares in Asia Pacific excluding Japan was slightly higher, rising 0.11 percent at 1:03 p.m. HK/SIN.
The Nikkei share average ended 0.5 percent higher at 22,597.20, while the broader Topix advanced 0.8 percent to 1,786.15.
Retail sales in October declined 0.2 percent compared to one year ago, although the figure remained in line with what was forecast in a Reuters poll. That was the first fall in yearly retail sales in a year, Reuters said.
Across the Korean Strait, the benchmark Kospi index was little changed, trading higher by 0.01 percent as several blue-chip tech names declined. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics lost 1.2 percent while companies that have been sensitive to developments related to the THAAD anti-missile system traded mixed: Lotte Shopping fell 2.11 percent and LG Household and Healthcare advanced 0.08 percent.
Shares of cosmetics names Amorepacific and Cosmax were up 1.29 percent and 4.47 percent, respectively, following news that China would once again let travel agencies resume selling tour packages to South Korea.
Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.43 percent higher, with heavily-weighted financial stocks climbing 0.66 percent. Sector-wise, utilities and retail names traded higher.
Greater China markets came under some pressure. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3 percent.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite shed 0.47 percent and the Shenzhen Composite edged down 0.76 percent. Blue chips sold off on the mainland, with the CSI 300 index down 0.92 percent.
Meanwhile, MSCI's broad index of shares in Asia Pacific excluding Japan was slightly higher, rising 0.11 percent at 1:03 p.m. HK/SIN.
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