Nikkei: 9,682.21 (-3.56) Hang Seng: 24,138.31 +242.21 Shanghai Comp: 3,001 (-15.67)ASIAN STOCKS swung between gains and losses yesterday as Japanese chip and carmakers rose when a key supplier started production.
Japan’s bond futures climbed as prime minister Naoto Kan compiled an extra budget to fund reconstruction from the country’s worst earthquake without selling more debt.
Renesas Electronics, a chipmaker that supplies the country’s carmakers, jumped as much as 6.2 per cent after saying it would restart operations at a quake-halted plant.
Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, rose 3.1 per cent. Gold for immediate delivery rose to a record, while spot silver was little changed, trading near its 31-year high.
Markets in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India and the Philippines were closed for a holiday.
Chipmakers and car manufacturers were the biggest boosts to Japan’s Topix index, and a gauge of consumer discretionary shares, which includes Toyota and Honda as its members, advanced 0.7 per cent.
Renesas Electronics advanced 1.4 per cent in Tokyo after earlier rising as much as 6.2 per cent and reversing an earlier decline of as much as 3.1 per cent, after announcing plans to restart operations at its quake-halted Naka plant in Ibaraki prefecture.
Toyota jumped 3.1 per cent, Honda rose 2.3 per cent and Nissan gained 3.6 per cent. All three carmakers reversed earlier declines and were the biggest positive supports to the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. – (Bloomberg)
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