Asian Shares Regain Footing

By Jake Maxwell Watts 

Japanese and Australian stocks rebounded early Wednesday from near their lowest levels this year, following a slight gain overnight in U.S. markets as a commodities-related global selloff fizzled out.

The S&P/ ASX 200 index in Australia rose 1.4% to 4981.20 shortly after the open, while Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 2% to 17274.06. At Tuesday's close, the ASX was at its lowest level since mid-2013, following losses in commodities companies, and the Nikkei was at its lowest since mid-January.

Healthcare and telecommunications companies led gains in Japan: Olympus Corp. was up 2.8% and SoftBank Group was recovering from a two-year low, trading 0.9% higher.

In Australia, resources companies also regained their footing, a day after renewed worries about the spillover of China's slowing demand battered prices of several commodities and related sectors. Fortescue Metals Group rose 1.4% and BHP Billiton Ltd. gained 1.3%. Internet-services provider TPG Telecom Ltd. surged 5.1% to A$10.66 (US$7.47) a share after the firm said it had struck deals worth more than 1 billion Australian dollars to expand Vodafone Hutchison Australia's transmission network.

Despite Wednesday's strength, investors remain cautious of more volatility to come in Asian markets as several indicators point to a harsher economic slowdown in China than previously thought. Global stock markets have been sliding in recent sessions because of fresh worries over slowing growth and questions over the Federal Reserve's plan for raising interest rates.

Later this week, investors will get an update on the U.S. job market, which could give guidance on the Fed's timeline for rate increases. On Thursday, China will release manufacturing data for September.

Meanwhile, markets remain vulnerable to sharp moves both up and down as risk sentiment changes. "Risk on, off, on, off, ad nauseam," ANZ wrote in a note.

Not all markets are trading higher on Thursday. South Korea's Kospi 200 Index fell 1.1% to 1922.18.

In currency markets, the Japanese yen weakened against the U.S. dollar. One U.S. dollar bought Yen119.95 Wednesday morning, compared with Tuesday's close of Yen119.71. The Australian dollar traded at US$0.7011 against the U.S. dollar, compared with US$0.6982 a day earlier.

Write to Jake Maxwell Watts at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2015 21:37 ET (01:37 GMT)

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