Investment appetite for riskier assets muted in the regional bourses largely on caution ahead of high-level policy meeting in China. China's leaders are scheduled to meet in Beijing from Nov. 9-12 to craft a new blueprint for the world's No. 2 economy as the country heads for its slowest annual growth in more than two decades. Hopes are high that the plenum will announce changes to give private businesses a greater say in the economy but reforms will face resistance from officials and state companies who benefit from the status quo.
Investors were also cautious ahead of U.S. GDP and jobs number, and the ECB decision. The European Central Bank has a meeting Thursday where it may foreshadow a further reduction to record low interest rates.
The advance estimate of U.S. third quarter economic growth is due the same day. U.S. October jobs figures are due on Friday. The U.S. economic data may influence investors' expectations about when the Federal Reserve will begin reducing its economic stimulus. Following the Fed's latest policy statement last week, some investors think "tapering" of the stimulus may begin as soon as December or January.
Among Asian bourses, Japanese share market closed higher after recouping losses late afternoon, as investors chased for bottom fishing on recently battered stocks. The benchmark Nikei225 index lost 126.37 points to end the day at 14201.57.
Tokyo share market opened higher but soon lost ground as the yen pushed higher against the dollar following a three-day weekend. A strong yen tends to weigh on Tokyo share prices as it makes exporters less competitive overseas. But players bought on dips, welcoming a slide in the yen against the dollar in late trading and as good earnings results from Asahi Group Holdings, Kubota Corp. and others offset a sharp fall in Nissan Motor shares after its forecast cut.
The dollar recovered to 98.45 yen from a 98.22 yen low on Tuesday, compared with 98.59 yen in New York late Monday.
Asahi Group Holdings closed up 2.2% at 2,727 yen after reporting a third quarter operating profit of 46.9 billion yen, up 34% on-year.
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Kubota surged 7.7% to 1,550 yen after revising up its first-half guidance, saying that it now expects sales of 729 billion yen and an operating profit of 100 billion yen, well above its previous forecast.
Circuit board maker Ibiden gained 6.1% to 1,762 yen after the company raised its full-year operating profit guidance to 21 billion yen from 18 billion yen. But some analysts found the new numbers to be cautious.
Nissan fell 10% to 861 yen after cutting its full year net profit forecast Friday to 355 billion yen from 420 billion yen due to costly recalls in the first fiscal half year and disappointing performances in some emerging markets.
NTN lost 8.6% to 416 yen after its second quarter results, which included an 8.1 billion yen operating profit, up 47-fold on-year and nearly double guidance of 4.1 billion yen, still came in below some forecasts.
Japan's monetary base grew 45.8% in October from a year earlier to 186.87 trillion yen, hitting a record high for the eighth straight month as the Bank of Japan kept pumping money into the financial system to beat deflation under its ultra-loose monetary policy, the central bank said Tuesday.
In Australia, shares in Sydney market finished higher, with mining, resources and energy companies were leading rally, propelled by stronger bulk commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 41.50 points, or 0.77%, to 5432. The broader All Ordinaries jumped 41.50 points, or 0.77%, to 5425.70.
Shares of precious-metal miners were biggest winner in Sydney, on the back of stronger bullion prices in the international market overnight. The Comex December futures gold price rose 0.1% to $1,314.70 per ounce.
Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining advanced 2.2% to A$10.22, Kingsgate 4.7% to A$1.46 and Perseus Mining 6.5% to A$0.41.
The mining and energy sectors also contributed most to ASX's rise, with iron ore producer Fortescue Metals (FMG) surging by 4% to A$5.53. Australia's second biggest miner, Rio Tinto (RIO) jumped 1.5% to A$64.70 while the larger BHP Billiton rose 0.9% to A$37.85. Energy giant Woodside Petroleum rose 1.4% to A$39.35 after the Brent crude oil price edged up 0.1 per cent to $106.28 per barrel. Origin Energy rose 2% to A$14.67 and Santos 0.5% to A$15.17. Whitehaven Coal added 2.9% to A$1.59.
Linc Energy dropped 0.4% to A$1.36, after announcing it would close its underground coal gasification plant in Queensland due to regulatory obstacles with plans to move the operation to an unspecified Asian location.
The Reserve Bank has kept the cash rate on hold in a widely expected move, following signs of a recovery in the non-mining sectors of the economy. The RBA left interest rates at a record low of 2.5% for the third consecutive month, after last cutting rates in August. At today's meeting, the Board judged that the setting of monetary policy remained appropriate, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said. The Board will continue to assess the outlook and adjust policy as needed to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation outcomes consistent with the target.
In China, Chinese share market finished modest higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index rising 0.35% to 2157.24, on the back of better than expected rise in Chinese service activity in October.
A HSBC and Markit Economics China services index released today, showing services PMI rose to 52.6 from September's 52.4, holding well above the 50 line that separates expansion from contraction. New business growth reached a seven-month high and employment rose for the second straight month.
Shares of agriculture companies went higher in Shanghai after the Ministry of Finance today launched a pilot program to accelerate agricultural modernization characterized by large scale, high productivity and sustainable growth. During his visit to Fuyuan County in Heilongjiang Province, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the development of modern agriculture hinges on reform, which must benefit the farmers and encourage innovation. Heilongjiang Agriculture Co Ltd surged by the daily limit of 10% to 12.87 yuan. Zhongken Agricultural Resource Development Co jumped 10% to 8.27 yuan. Dahu Aquaculture Co advanced 5% to 7.75 yuan.
Shares of China's tech-related companies bounced on bargain hunting. Neusoft Corp. a software maker, jumped 6.1% to 14.09 yuan after suffering loss of nearly 6% last month. Leshi Internet Information, an online video company, jumped 8.8% to 38.60 yuan. Huayi Brothers Media Corp. advanced 6.5% to 24.10 yuan.
In Hong Kong, HK shares finished weaker in volatile trade, as investors booked profit on tracking fall in A-share market in Mainland China. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.65% to 23038.95 while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index sank 0.46% to 10637.15.
Among the HK 50 blue chips, 4 stocks rose and 46 fell. Want Want was top blue-chip loser, slipping 4.8% to HK$11.38. HSBC gained 1.5% to HK$86.35 following the banking firm's rise in third-quarter net profit by 28%, becoming the top blue-chip winner.
Elsewhere, AAC Tech plunged 7.3% to HK$31 after it reported 9-month net jumped 65% but it expects pressure in gross margin for the 4Q. Luk Fook dipped 1.4% to HK$27.6 after it announced plan to acquire a 50% stake in China Gold Silver Group from HKRH (02882), which soared 46.7% to HK$0.27.
Shares of computer maker Lenovo Group rose 0.96% to HK$8.44 after smart-phone manufacturer BlackBerry said a deal to sell itself to majority shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings fell through. There's been speculation that Lenovo would try to purchase BlackBerry, though no other bidders made a counteroffer to Fairfax's buy offer.
In India, Indian benchmark indices declined for the first time in last six sessions after a survey showed that India's vast service sector activity remained weak in the month just gone by. Weakness in European stocks also dampened sentiment on the domestic bourses. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell below the psychological 21,000 mark. The Sensex lost 264.57 points or 1.25%, off close to 184 points from the day's high and up close to 23 points from the day's low.
Hindalco Industries rose after its US subsidiary Novelis on Monday, 4 November 2013, announced a price increase on its aluminium automotive sheet products in North America. The stock rose 1.47%. The price increase of $0.11 per pound for 6000-series, 5182-series and 5000-series automotive alloys will be effective for all new orders on or after 1 January 2014, Novelis said in a statement. Novelis fabrication pricing for specified volumes under current contracts will be honoured throughout the contract period, the company said. The price increase is in addition to the previously announced pricing adjustment made on 23 April 2013. "This increase reflects the dynamics of the rapidly growing market for aluminium automotive sheet in North America. We officially commissioned our two new automotive sheet finishing lines in Oswego, NY, last month, which will increase our automotive capacity by 240,000 tons per year. That's five times our current automotive capacity in North America and an important milestone as we remain globally positioned to build on our supply and technology leadership in this important market," said Marco Palmieri, Senior Vice President and President, Novelis North America.
Bharti Airtel fell 1.56%. The company said during market hours that it has entered into a definitive agreement with the Warid Group (Warid) to fully acquire Warid Congo SA. The agreement is subject to regulatory and statutory approvals. The agreement marks the second in-country acquisition by Airtel in Africa. It had acquired Warid's Uganda operations earlier this year. The latest acquisition will make Airtel the largest mobile operator in Congo Brazzaville with around 2.6 million customers. At present, Airtel is the second largest operator in the country with over 1.6 million customers, while Warid is the third largest with around one million customers.
Elsewhere in the region, New Zealand's NZX 50 index rose 0.57%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index declined 0.21%. South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.56%. Taiwan's Taiex index lost 0.1%. Malaysia's KLSE Composite shed 0.16%. Singapore's Straits Times index rose 0.05%.
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