Major Asia stock markets gained in choppy trading Thursday, as investors absorbed a mixed bag of local and offshore earnings reports.
South Korea’s Kospi SEU climbed 0.9%, while Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average 100000018 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index XJO each put on 0.6%.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI and the Shanghai Composite Index 000001 added 0.2% apiece.
Overnight, upbeat outlook statements from construction-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. CAT and aerospace company Boeing Co. BA helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA snap a three-session losing streak on Wednesday.
Tom Kaan, director of equity sales at Louis Capital Markets in Hong Kong, said positive global earnings reports were providing a lift to investor sentiment.
“Earnings aren’t doing too badly. The European doom-and-gloom is still a big overhang, and that’s why you’re not seeing more headway being made and more positive conviction toward stocks,” Kaan said.
In Tokyo, Nintendo Co. 7974 NTDOF climbed 3.8% after posting a narrower loss than a year earlier. Read more on Nintendo results.
Robot maker Fanuc Corp. 6954FANUF jumped 4.3% after its quarterly earnings beat expectations.
On the downside, shares of Canon Inc. 7751 CAJ plunged 7.1% as the camera firm cut its outlook for the fiscal year. Read more on Canon results.
Terumo Corp. 4543 confirmed a report that it was proposing a merger with Olympus Corp. 7733 OCPNF, challenging reported ambitions by Sony Corp. 6758 SNE to strike a tie-up deal with Olympus. Following the news, Sony rose 5.4%, and Olympus surged 9.6%, but Terumo gave up early gains to fall 1.1%. Read more on competition for Olympus deal.
Nomura Holdings Inc. 8604 NRSCF NMR jumped 5.3%, with investors appearing to shrug off reports that Nomura’s chief executive would resign over an insider-trading scandal. Read more on Nomura CEO’s reported departure.
A rise for property firms helped lead Hong Kong higher, as China Resources Land Ltd. 1109 put on 2.9% and China SCE Property Holdings Ltd. 1966 added 2.9%. Read Caixin Online feature report on Chinese real estate.
But losses for casino shares limited broader gains, with Sands China Ltd. 1928 SCHYY pressured after parent Las Vegas Sands Corp. LVS missed earnings estimates.
Sands shares slumped 6.1%, while rival Wynn Macau Ltd. 1128 WYNMY dropped 3.9%, and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd.27 slid 4%.
Despite the losses, Louis Capital Markets’ Kaan was upbeat on the outlook for Hong Kong’s casino sector.
”Gambling is recession-proof, especially in Asia. Investors are taking profits and short-selling stocks in Hong Kong right now,” Kaan said.
Seoul, Sydney movers
Gains for electronics majors lent support in Seoul, including a 6.4% rise for LG Electronics Inc. LGEIY after it posted a 47% increase in net profit. Read more on LG Electronics results.
LG Display Co. LPL added 2.6% after the flat-panel firm said it plans to invest $1 billion on phone displays. Read more on LG Display’s $1 billion investment.
South Korean chip maker SK Hynix Inc. also managed to gain 0.5% despite swinging to a net loss in the second quarter amid a drop in prices for NAND chips. Read more on SK Hynix earnings.
The moves came as data showed the South Korean economy grew less than forecast in the second quarter. Read more on South Korea’s GDP.
In Sydney, shares of Newcrest Mining Ltd. NCM NCMGY gained 2.2% after the miner reported full-year gold and copper output that was down from a year earlier but still outperformed expectations. Read more on Newcrest production report.
Another Australian blue chip, Qantas Airways Ltd. QAN QUBSF, saw its stock zoom up 9.1% after an unconfirmed report that it’s close to a code-sharing deal with Mideast carrier Emirates.
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