ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks Trade Mostly Higher As Japan Swings Up

By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Asian stock markets traded broadly higher Friday, with Japanese blue chips swinging to gains in the afternoon session, though the advance was modest after volatile moves earlier in the week.

The rise for the major markets came as Hong Kong and Seoul were closed for holidays, curbing trading volumes in bourses that were open.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average traded 0.2% higher in the afternoon, undoing losses from the morning session and paring Thursday's 0.4% retreat, which had followed a major jump of 2.3% on Wednesday.

Outside of the very largest firms, Japanese equities showed more solid gains, with the Topix -- which includes all large-cap shares listed in Tokyo -- climbing 0.6%.

Losses for Wall Street overnight helped dampen sentiment earlier in the day, as the S&P 500 (SPX) finished down 0.5% after a Federal Reserve official tipped a pullback in the central bank's easing programs could come as soon as this summer.

Real-estate shares were a strong spot for the Tokyo market, as some major names rebounded from recent losses. Among them, Mitsui Fudosan Co. (8801.TO) climbed 2.1%, Mitsubishi Estate Co. (MITEF) added 2.2%, and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. (8830.TO) rallied 3.5%.

Utilities also traded higher, with Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501.TO), commonly known as Tepco, up 1.6% in choppy trade. Tepco shares have now tripled in value since the start of the year, though they remain well below their levels before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused a major disaster at the company's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Also on the rise, Hitachi Ltd. (HIT) added 1.9% to its share price after the conglomerate forecast earnings for the 2015-16 fiscal year that bested analyst expectations.

Shares of Renesas Electronics Corp. (RNECY) zoomed 7.8% higher. Late Thursday, Renesas said it was teaming with a Belgian research institute to develop communication technology featuring ultralow power consumption, according to Kyodo News.

On the downside in Japan, Sony Corp. (SNE) dropped 1% after NPD Group data late Thursday showed April U.S. videogame-console sales plunging 42% from year-earlier levels as consumers awaited new devices from Sony and rivals Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Nintendo Co. (NTDOF). Shares of Nintendo traded 1.2% lower.

Some other tech majors saw weakness as well, with Pioneer Corp. (6773.TO) falling 1.5%, Panasonic Corp. losing 1.2%, and Tokyo Electron Ltd. (8035.TO) surrendering 2.6%, moving back near levels seen at the start of the week.

Sydney, Shanghai improve

Over in Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moved 0.5% higher, helped by strength in some major mining and banking names.

Senior miners BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) added 2.4% and 1.3%, respectively, after a 0.9% advance for July copper futures overnight. Uranium extractor Paladin Energy Ltd. (PDN.T) rose 3.3%, while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FSUMY) added 2.9%, though losses for gold futures helped drive Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCMGF) shares 1.9% lower.

"If commodity prices remain supported in the Asian trading session, Australian stocks should hold near current levels and halt recent weaknesses," wrote Rivkin global analyst Tim Radford just ahead of the market open. The ASX 200 had ended Thursday with a 0.5% loss, after falling 0.6% on Wednesday.

Among financials, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBAUY) -- the ASX 200's most heavily weighted component -- gained 0.8%, while Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANEWF) improved by 1.5% and insurer QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (QBIEY) rose 2.1%.

Shares of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. (VBHLF) jumped 8.4% higher after a 17% crash in the previous session on the back of a profit warning. Helping boost the airline operator, both UBS and J.P. Morgan raised their ratings on the shares to buy and overweight, respectively.

However, a profit warning at energy firm WorleyParsons Ltd. (WOR.AU) sent that stock falling 9.1% in Sydney.

Likewise, retail major Wesfarmers Ltd. (WFAFY) warned of "disappointing" results at its Target stores, with its shares losing 3.1%. Target Australia is unrelated to the U.S. firm Target Corp., though it uses the latter's "bullseye" logo.

Over in Shanghai, shares saw rangebound trade, with the Shanghai Composite Index higher by 0.1% after opening 0.2% to the downside.

Strength in the property majors helped support the market, with Poly Real Estate Group Co. and Gemdale Corp. up 1.7% each. Similarly, top mainland Chinese developer China Vanke Co. also saw its shares gain 1.7% on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The advance for real-estate came ahead of April home-price data, due out Saturday. Noting March's 3.6% gain in home prices for the 70 top cities surveyed in the data, ING analysts said: "We think increased monetary accommodation in the beginning of the year ... kept home price inflation elevated."

Also positive for the sector, some investors are expecting the Chinese government to loosen some of its restrictions on property sales by the end of the year, Dow Jones Newswires quoted a Guotai Junan Securities as saying.

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