WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Major Asian markets rebound after recent slides
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-28 15:20

SEOUL – Major Asian stock markets rebounded Tuesday after several days of steep declines as investors snapped up shares like Honda and Samsung and that have been beaten down in recent weeks.



People are reflected on a stock quotation board displaying the Nikkei share average outside a brokerage in Tokyo October 28, 2008. The Nikkei average rose 3 percent on Tuesday, with investors picking up beaten-down shares such as Honda Motor after the benchmark briefly broke below 7,000 for the first time in 26 years. [Agencies]


Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 459.02 points, or 6.4 percent, to 7,621.92 after early falling below 7,000 points to fresh 26-year lows.

A weaker yen against the dollar encouraged traders to buy exporters like Toyota, whose overseas earnings are eroded by a strong yen. The dollar, which had fallen to a 13-year low against the yen on Friday, rose to 95.51 yen from 93.01 yen in late New York trading.

Chinese mainland's stocks rebounded in afternoon trading Tuesday, with banks and brokerages leading the advance. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 2.8 percent, or 48.47 points, to close at 1,771.82.

Hong Kong's benchmark index rebounded 14.4 percent after plunging 12.7 percent the previous day. The Hang Seng index surged 1,580.45 points to 12,596.29 on Tuesday. South Korea's Kospi also recovered after falling earlier, jumping 5.6 percent to close at 999.16.

"Sentiment turned positive in the afternoon session thanks to sharp gains in the Hong Kong stock market," said Yutaka Miura, senior strategist at Shinko Securities in Tokyo. "Investors were now buying back after the Nikkei index slipped below the 7,000-level in the morning."

Castor Pang, analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial, said market sentiment in Hong Kong was better Tuesday, but said the Hang Seng was mostly reacting to the previous day's big loss.

"It's only a technical rebound," he said.

Australia's key stock measure closed down 0.4 percent, though sharply pared earlier losses. Macquarie Equities analyst Helen Spencer said investors took heart from the rebound in Japanese stocks.

"The positive result on the Nikkei has helped to spur a bit more confidence this afternoon on the market," she said.

In South Korea, the buying was driven by domestic investors following the biggest rate cut ever by the central bank on Monday, analysts said, even as foreign investors kept selling to get cash to meet redemptions and liquidity needs at home. Data showed that foreigners, who have been dumping shares at a record pace this year, remained net sellers Tuesday.

"Korean domestic investors are buying stocks and futures," said Shim Jae-youb, a strategist at Meritz Securities in Seoul.

Attention in Japan, Asia's biggest stock market, was also focused on earnings reports. Honda Motor Co., electronics maker Panasonic Corp. and brokerage Nomura Holdings Inc. were due to announce results later in the day.

In a volatile session Monday on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 203.18, or 2.42 percent, to 8,175.77 after earlier rising by as many as 220 points. Most of the decline came in the final 10 minutes of trading. Broader indicators fell more.

Currency traders were on guard over possible moves by Japanese authorities to intervene in the market and cap the yen's strength after a Group of Seven advanced nations raised concerns over gains Monday.

"Investors are trading with caution over the Bank of Japan's intervention to curb the yen's rise," said Mitsuru Sahara, vice president of the foreign exchange division at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.

Though not a force in the currency markets in recent years, the Japanese central bank, at the behest of the nation's Finance Ministry, has stepped into the market massively in the past to buy US dollars and sell yen at times of yen strength.

In South Korea, won sank a further 1.7 percent against the dollar despite suspected intervention by the central bank to purchase greenbacks. The won closed at 1,467.80 and is now down 36.2 percent so far this year.