By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japanese and South Korean stocks
advanced Tuesday after wavering between gains and losses, as
investors pondered whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will maintain
its monthly bond purchases.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average , which had risen in the previous
two sessions, was up 0.5% after changing direction multiple times,
while the broader Topix also climbed 0.5%.
South Korea's Kospi overcame initial losses to add 0.2%, but
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%.
The performance came on the heels of a triple-digit point gain
for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) overnight.
Trading in the U.S. and other global markets has been volatile,
as investors remain focused on the Federal Open Market Committee
policy decision Wednesday, which investors are hoping will provide
clues on how long the Fed will maintain its $85-billion-a-month in
bond purchases.
"We expect this nervousness to continue to dominate until the
FOMC rate decision and Chairman [Ben] Bernanke's press conference
on Wednesday, with asset prices remaining vulnerable to news
headlines, keeping the volatility elevated," Barclays analysts
wrote to clients.
In Japan, real-estate, insurance and brokerage stocks climbed
alongside many major exporters in the wake of the higher finish on
Wall Street, although some banks and telecommunication stocks
fell.
Mitsubishi Estate Co. (MITEY) rose 2%, Nomura Holdings Inc.
(NMR) climbed 2.9% and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc.
added 1.5%, finding buyers after suffering steep losses earlier in
the month.
Shares of Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) added 1.8% on reports the auto
giant has raised its Japan sales target, while steel maker JFE
Holdings Inc. (5411.TO) soared 3.2% on news it plans to invest $300
million to build an automotive steel sheet plan in Indonesia.
Shares of Sharp Corp. (SHCAY) gained 1.7% after the Asahi
Shimbun reported the company was considering producing photocopiers
for Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF), with a fresh investment from
Samsung potentially part of the deal. Samsung shares rose 0.3% in
Seoul.
On the downside, shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.
(MTU) fell 0.3%, and KDDI Corp. (9433.TO) lost 1.5%.
Banks also dropped in Sydney ahead of the release of the Reserve
Bank of Australia's minutes from its last meeting.
National Australia Bank Ltd. (NABZY) dropped 0.6% and Macquarie
Group Ltd. (MCQEF) fell 1.2%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia
shares (CBAUY) retreated 0.3%.
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