Nikkei: 10,525.19 (+20.17) Hang Seng: 23,711.70 (+398.51) Shanghai Comp: 3,000.57 (+4.36)HONG KONG shares rose yesterday helped by a late rally in shares of heavyweight HSBC, while mainland banks looked poised for further gains after China reversed reserve requirements for certain banks. HSBC gained 2.3 per cent. ICBC gained 0.8 per cent, while China Construction Bank rose 1.6 per cent.
Shanghai’s benchmark index ended up 0.1 per cent, underpinned by a strong property sector, while financials saw mild profit-taking.
Japan’s Nikkei benchmark edged higher as investors covered short positions after sharp losses the day before, but future gains are likely to be hard-won due to concerns about oil prices.
Two major deals were applauded by investors, with Hitachi gaining 1.8 per cent to 514 yen on the sale of its hard disk drive operations to Western Digital for $4.3 billion, while Terumo climbed 3.2 per cent to 4,640 yen on its purchase of US medical device firm CaridianBCT for $2.6 billion.
Tech shares followed their US counterparts lower. Toshiba fell by 0.8 per cent to 514 yen, and Sony dropped 0.6 per cent to 2,908 yen. – (Reuters)
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