Asian Stocks Advance On US, Chinese Data

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Monday, with upbeat data out of the U.S. and China, and a weaker yen underpinning sentiment. Signs of a fairly robust U.S. recovery and optimism that China's economy is stabilizing helped investors to shrug off worries over Fed tapering, at least for now.

Japan's Nikkei average climbed 2.3 percent to 15,650, extending gains for a second day, with a weaker yen and firm cues from Wall Street boosting sentiment. The broader Topix index gained 1.6 percent to 1,255, its biggest advance in three weeks. Exporters led the gainers, with Canon, Honda Motor, Fanuc, Denso, Mazda Motor and Kyocera rising 1-4 percent. Heavyweight Fast Retailing rallied 3.3 percent and SoftBank Corp rose 2.2 percent. Yahoo Japan Corp soared 6.4 percent on a brokerage upgrade.

On the macroeconomic front, Japan's gross domestic product expanded 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the previous three months, the Cabinet Office's revised estimate showed. That missed forecasts for 0.4 percent expansion and was down from October's preliminary reading for 0.5 percent growth.

Separately, Japan posted a current account deficit of 127.9 billion yen in October, the Ministry of Finance said - missing forecasts for a surplus of 148.9 billion yen. Exports jumped 17.9 percent year-over-year to 5.833 trillion yen, while imports surged an annual 28.2 percent to 6.925 trillion yen.

China's Shanghai Composite edged up marginally to 2,238 as investors digested trade and inflation data. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3 percent to 23,811, with a broad decline in property stocks capping gains.

Data released over the weekend showed that China's trade surplus increased to $33.80 billion in November from $31.1 billion in the previous month. Exports jumped 12.7 percent, up from 5.6 percent in the previous month and beating forecasts for a 7 percent rise, while the import growth slowed down to 5.3 percent.

Another government report showed that consumer prices in China rose 3.0 percent year-over-year in November, falling below expectations for an increase of 3.2 percent amid a slowdown in food price inflation.

Australian shares fell to eight-week lows, dragged down by financials after QBE Insurance warned it will likely report a net loss for the 2013 fiscal year due to writedowns at its U.S. operations. QBE shares plunged over 22 percent, while the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.8 percent lower at 5,144, erasing early gains. AMP fell 2.3 percent, Insurance Australia Group lost a percent, Westpac Banking Corp declined 1.3 percent and NAB shed 0.9 percent. TPG Telecom shares jumped nearly 14 percent. Metcash soared 4.3 percent as it unveiled plans to split its operations.

In economic news, Australian job advertisements in newspapers and on the internet declined in November, a survey by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group revealed. Job ads fell a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent in November from the previous month following the 0.1 percent drop in October.

Seoul shares rose sharply, snapping a six-day losing streak, helped by foreign fund buying. The benchmark Kospi average surged 20 points or a percent to 2,000, led by tech stocks. Samsung Electronics advanced 1.8 percent, LG Electronics rose 0.8 percent and SK Hynix rallied 2.4 percent.

New Zealand's benchmark index NZX-50 rose 0.1 percent to 4,718, led by heavyweights and tech shares. Telecom shares rallied 2 percent after the company sold its Australian AAPT unit for A$450 million to ASX-listed internet service provider TPG Telecom. Utility Contact Energy jumped over 3 percent on bargain hunting after hitting its lowest level in a decade last week. Tech shares Xero and Diligent Board Member Services climbed 6-7 percent.

Fletcher Building, the nation's largest construction company, dropped 1.3 percent after data from property valuer Quotable Value revealed that New Zealand house prices increased notably in November reflecting a fundamental imbalance between supply and demand. Another report from Statistics New Zealand showed that the total volume of manufacturing activity in New Zealand climbed a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the previous three months.

Elsewhere, India's Sensex is climbing 1.6 percent as investors cheered encouraging state election results that came in line with the exit poll results. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was adding a percent, the Taiwan Weighted average advanced 0.9 percent and Malaysia's KLSE Composite was gaining 0.8 percent, while Singapore's Straits Times index was down 0.1 percent.

U.S. stocks rose sharply on Friday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 ending a five-day losing streak, as a stronger-than-expected jobs report and upbeat consumer sentiment data fueled hopes that the U.S. economy can withstand the winding back of Federal Reserve stimulus. The Dow rose 1.3 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 added 1.1 percent.