Gains eclipsed worries about Ukraine after the United States and the European Union imposed more sanctions on Russia for its role in backing the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine.
However, upward move in the regional bourses were limited after Japan's central bank left monetary policy unchanged despite signs of weaker economic growth. Meanwhile, caution ahead to a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and Chinese manufacturing data for April also kept gains in check.
Investors looked ahead to the end of a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting. The Fed was expected to stick to plans to reduce monthly bond purchases by $10 billion this month. Fed's bond-buying program has been a source of liquidity for most Asian and emerging markets.
Also due out Wednesday was preliminary first-quarter figures on growth in the world's largest economy. Also out Thursday are Chinese manufacturing data for April.
The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady on Wednesday, despite concern that an April 1 consumption tax hike will sap growth, and is set to lay out projections underscoring its conviction that inflation will head steadily towards its 2% target, suggesting no additional stimulus is on the near-term horizon. As widely expected, the BOJ maintained its pledge to increase base money, its key policy gauge, at an annual pace of 60 trillion to 70 trillion yen ($588-$686 billion). But it lowered its forecast for Japan's economic growth.
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Among Asian bourses, Australian share market finished the session marginal above the neutral line, as strong gains by index heavyweights Telstra and BHP Billiton helped to shrug off some disappointing corporate news from the likes of Woolworths and Woodside Petroleum. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose 2.50 points to 5489.10 while the broader All Ordinaries jumped by 3.90 points to 5470.80. Over the month, the ASX 200 rose 1.8%, while the broader All Ordinaries added 1.3%.
Materials and resources stocks were higher, despite nervousness about credit tightening and slower growth in China leading to weaker iron ore and coal prices, with resources giant BHP Billiton up by 0.4% to A$37.75 while Rio Tinto added 0.7% at A$61.70 and Fortescue Metals Group 1% to A$5.05.
Banks and financials were broadly down, with top four lenders lead losses on concerns over earnings. ANZ kicks off bank earnings season on Thursday, while NAB and Westpac are due to report their profits next week. ANZ Banking Group declined 0.4% to A$34.47, Westpac Banking Corp 0.8% to A$35.12, Commonwealth Bank of Australia 0.1% to A$78.90 and National Australia Bank 0.6% to A$35.30.
Consumer staple sector was worst-performer in the ASX sectoral group, down 1.1%, as retail group Woolworths lost 1.9% to A$37.32 after its March quarter sales results fell short of expectations. Arch rival Wesfarmers fell 0.7% to $42.71 after showing 4.4% quarterly sales growth on Tuesday.
Energy players were also higher, with Australia's biggest oil producer Woodside Petroleum up by 0.2% to A$40.80 as chairman Michael Chaney told the annual shareholders meeting the group will continue to cut costs. Origin Energy gained 0.3% to $14.90 after showing a 10% increase on third quarter production and reporting its Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas project is two thirds complete. Horizon Oil was up 7% to A$0.38 on news the company had agreed to an A$800 million merger with Roc Oil.
Whitehaven Coal lost 1.4% to $1.46 after its third quarter production report missed guidance due to wet weather and weak coal prices.
Reserve Bank of Australia data showed private sector credit grew 0.4% in March, keeping pace with February's growth. Business credit grew more slowly than the previous month while housing credit growth was steady and personal credit fell.
In Japan, Japanese share market finished the session tad higher after squeezing early gains, as the yen strengthened due to Bank of Japan's decision to hold off expanding its monetary policy easing campaign despite signs of weaker economic growth. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.11% to finish at 14304.11, while the Topix index of all first-section shares added 0.15% to 1162.44.
Japanese yen appreciated against basket of major currencies as the Bank of Japan stood pat on its current super-easy monetary policy. A weaker dollar is bad for Japanese manufacturers of goods they export overseas. The greenback fell to as low as Y102.28 after the BOJ forecast around 0600 GMT but then advanced toward Y102.38 around 0635 GMT. That compares with a reading of Y102.64 in late Tuesday trading in New York.
SoftBank shares added 0.5% following an 11% rise in Sprint Corp. shares after the U.S. wireless carrier boosted its full-year forecast and topped its first-quarter sales estimates. SoftBank recently paid $22 billion to take over the company.
Honda Motor Corp shares rebounded 2.0% after tumbling 4.5% on Monday following its earnings guidance miss. Honda Motor expects its group net profit to amount to Y595 billion in the fiscal year ending in March, below the market expectations of Y692 billion.
Japan Display tumbled another 6.3% after sliding 16% Monday following a downward revision of its outlook. Just over a month after its initial public offering, Japan Display revised down its annual net profit target by 15% from its outlook released March 19, the day of its listing.
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has released preliminary industrial production data on Wednesday, showing that Japan's industrial production rose 0.3% on the month in March, posting the first rise in two months led by automobiles as well as electronic parts and devices. The output index rose to 101.8 (100 in the 2010 base year) after severe snow storms led to a 2.3% slump in February but it was below 103.9 marked in January. For January-March, factory output rose 2.8%, posting the fifth consecutive quarterly increase, reflecting strong domestic demand before the 5% consumption tax was raised to 8% on April 1. In fiscal 2013 that ended on March 31, industrial output rose 3.2% after falling 2.9% in fiscal 2012.
In New Zealand, equities on the New Zealand stock market rose on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 with the NZX 50 index registering a record as a new US partner for Xero saw investors return to the sold-off stock, while high-yield power companies MightyRiverPower, Contact Energy, Meridian Energy and Genesis Energy paced gains.
The benchmark index rose 84.385 points, or 1.6%, to 5232.676 points. Within the index, 38 stocks rose, five fell and seven were unchanged.
Xero, the cloud-based accounting software company chasing growth, secured a partnership with H&R Block in the US and slowed cash burn for the first three months of this year luring back investors. The company was caught in a global tech sell-off, sliding 20% over the past month, as investors questioned the valuations of high-growth companies. The shares rose 5.5% to NZ$31.65.
OceanaGold led gainers rising 11% to NZ$2.93. The Melbourne-based copper and gold miner reported a 730% boost in first quarter earnings as its Philippines' operation came online.
Diligent Board Member Services rose 5.3% to NZ$4.54 after the governance app maker reported its 2013 annual report having restated financials for the last three years due to an accounting error.
New Zealand Oil & Gas rose 1.3% to 77.5 NZ cents. The Wellington-based oil and gas exploration firm said it was cautiously optimistic about oil exploration at Pateke, part of the Tui oil field of which it has a 28% stake in.
In China, Mainland China share market advanced for second day in row, as investors continued bargain hunting on speculation that the government will take steps to bolster the economy, with healthcare and consumer-related stocks lead rally. However, move on the upside was limited as there was a mix of winners and losers from a flood of first quarter results ahead of the two-day national holiday starting Thursday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index finished the session 6.02 points higher at 2026.36, after touching an intraday peak of 2029.54.
Among SSE sectors, 7/10 sectors of the SSE index advanced, with healthcare sector was top gainer among the SSE sectoral group, with rise of 1.66%, meanwhile consumer staples sector was up 1.62%, utilities up 0.61%, consumer discretionary up 0.57%, industrials up 0.41%, information technology up 0.3%, and telecommunication services up 0.28%. Materials sector declined by 0.49%, financials down by 0.48% and energy lower by 0.23%.
Healthcare sub-index was biggest winner among the 10 SSE industry group, with gains were led by Yunnan Baiyao Group Co, which jumped 3.3% after posting a 34% year on year increase in Q1 profits on Tuesday. Other pharma firms continued to rise after releasing earnings on Monday. Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co shares were up 2.6% and Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co gained 1.9%.
Banks and financial stocks declined, weighing the financial sub index down by 0.5%, amid concerns about exposure to bad loans and competition from online wealth management products despite Big Four banks have all posted expectation-beating first quarter results. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China declined 0.6% even as the bank beat estimates with a near 7% rise in first-quarter net profit.
Metal stocks declined on reports the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), one of Beijing's top government think tanks, has revised its 2014 GDP growth forecast down to 7.4%, below the official 7.5% target, and said that growth could slow to as low as 7%.
In Hong Kong, HK share market closed sharply lower today, dragged down by profit-taking by investors following surge in the previous day and after WH Group, the world's biggest pork supplier, canceled a $1.9 billion Hong Kong initial public offering. Meanwhile, weakness in Tencent's shares aggravated the downside of the benchmark index. The benchmark Hang Seng index was down 1.42% to 22133.97, while Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.04% to 9779.72. The local stock market will be shut tomorrow for a holiday.
Among the HK 50 blue chips, 43 fell and 5 rose while remaining 2 stocks closed steady. Tencent Holdings declined 5.2% to HK$483.20, contributing 91-points losses to the benchmark Index and becoming the worst-performing blue chip in percentage change term, on concerns about censorship in its online video platforms and depreciation in the yuan. Its market cap evaporated HK$49bn in a day.
China Unicom advanced 5.9% to HK$11.90, contributing 12-points gains to the benchmark Index and becoming the best-performing blue chip in percentage change term.
Telecom players outperformed the market on report that a national Tower Company is being formed and will be jointly owned by three China telcos, who no longer need to build base stations by themselves. China Unicom (00762) soared 6% to HK$11.9. China Telecom (00728) added 3.1% to 3.98. China Mobile (00941) inched up 0.8% to HK$73.7.
Macau gaming counters had rebounded at one stage but lacked further momentum. Galaxy Ent (00027) and Sands China (01928) slid 2% to HK$60.85 and HK$56.6. Wynn Macau (01128) dropped 3% to HK$30.55. SJM (00880) slipped 1.4% to HK$21.5. MGM China (02282) was flat at HK$27 despite its quarterly earnings were strong. Research houses Barclays and CLSA reiterated their bullish stance on the stock, with respective target prices of HK$40.7 and HK$48
In India, volatility ruled the roost on the Indian bourses today. Key benchmark indices settled lower after fluctuating between positive and negative terrain throughout the session. Investors remained wary ahead of the announcement of Federal Reserve's monetary policy review later in the global day today, 30 April 2014.
The S&P BSE Sensex fell 48.39 points or 0.22% to 22,417.80, its lowest closing level since 16 April 2014. The CNX Nifty fell 18.85 points or 0.28% to 6,696.40, its lowest closing level since 16 April 2014.
Metal stocks declined on reports the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), one of Beijing's top government think tanks, has revised its 2014 GDP growth forecast down to 7.4%, below the official 7.5%target, and said that growth could slow to as low as 7%. China is the world's largest consumer of copper and aluminum. Sesa Sterlite (down 2.78%), Hindustan Zinc (down 2.32%), Steel Authority of India (SAIL) (down 2.04%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.82%), Bhushan Steel (down 0.51%) and NMDC (down 0.07%), edged lower. JSW Steel (up 1.96%) and Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.91%), edged higher.
Tata Steel dropped 1.21% to Rs 400.60. The company's new Coke Oven Battery 11 was commissioned on Tuesday, 29 April 2014 by Mr Cyrus P. Mistry, Tata Group Chairman at Jamshedpur. The company made announcement after market hours on Tuesday, 29 April 2014. With the commissioning of the Coke Oven Battery 11, the company will be self-sufficient in coke requirement for stable operation of Jamshedpur Steel works. Built at a production capacity of 0.7 million tonnes per annum, the Coke Oven Battery 11 operates with 88 ovens with stamp charge technology and is the largest coke oven complex at the Jamshedpur works. The state-of-the-art facility meets all environmental norms and consists of various features to take care of the plant and human safety.
Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) dropped 0.55% to Rs 803.25 on weak Q4 results. The bank's consolidated net profit fell 0.34% to Rs 663.31 crore 8.96% rise in total income to Rs 4782.17 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013. The result was announced during market hours. Net profit fell 6.65% to Rs 407.18 crore on 0.74% decline in total income to Rs 2552.96 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, Taiwan's Taiex index fell 0.91%. South Korea's KOSPI index was down 0.15%. Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.83%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.42%. Malaysia's KLSE Composite rose 0.66%.
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