By Laura He, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japan markets rallied on upbeat
corporate earnings on Thursday, while miners and financial stocks
led Australia's benchmark stock index lower.
Other major markets in the region were closed for public
holidays, including Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea, India,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, and the
Philippines.
In Japan, the Nikkei Average ended up 1.3%, and the Topix index
settled 1.7% higher. IT giant Fujitsu jumped 6.3%, after it swung
back to profit for the fiscal year to March 2014. Nomura Holdings ,
Japan's largest securities firm, also climbed 6.3%, as its earnings
doubled to 213.6 billion yen ($2.1 billion) for the year ended
March. Smaller rival Daiwa Securities Group gained 3.1%, after its
net income more than doubled to 169.5 billion yen for last year,
although its fourth-quarter profit declined for the first time in
nine quarters.
Electronics giant Sony Corp. ended 1% higher. After the markets
closed, the company said it expects a wider loss for the just-ended
fiscal year as the cost of disposing its PC business weighed on the
company as a whole.
Utilities also attracted much buyers' interest. Hokkaido
Electric Power Company and Kyushu Electric Power Company surged
13.1% and 9.1% respectively, after the two companies said they
would seek financial support from the government. Tokyo Electric
Power Company advanced 3.9%, as it returned to profit for the first
time in four years. Shikoku Electric Power Company and Chubu
Electric Power Company rose 4.8% and 3.1% each.
Meanwhile, the Japanese yen (USDJPY) was flat against the dollar
and traded at Yen102.21, compared with Yen102.25 in the prior
session.
In Australia, banks and miners dragged the markets lower, with
the S&P/ASX 200 closing down 0.7%.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group dropped 1.2%, despite
posting a 15% rise in net income for the six months ending March
31. Meanwhile, National Australia Bank was down 1.7%, Westpac
Banking Corp. was off 1.2%, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia
moved lower by 0.3%.
Mining companies suffered a selloff as iron ore prices fell
sharply. Fortescue Metals Group tumbled 4%, Alumina lost 2.2%, Rio
Tinto gave up 1.5%, and BHP Billiton pulled back 0.7%.
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