Asian Shares Rise on Bargain Hunting

By Chao Deng 

Shares in Asia were higher Wednesday, with Tokyo easing off from a two-month low as investors hunted for bargains.

The Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.4%, snapping a five-session losing streak, as the dollar traded at Yen107.26, a touch higher than Yen107.06 late Tuesday in New York. The index sank 2.4% yesterday, its lowest since August.

Stocks in Australia were up 0.7%, amid recent strength in the iron-ore market. Iron-ore prices saw their biggest one-day percentage gain in months, earlier in the week, although it has eased since Monday. The spot price for the steelmaking commodity was last unchanged from Tuesday at US$83.10 a ton.

Rio Tinto Ltd. was up 1.1%. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets say Rio Tinto's iron-ore expansion operations are on track even though third quarter production numbers fell short of expectations.

Korea's Kospi was up 0.1% after the Bank of Korea cut its benchmark interest rates for the second time this year.

The region's stocks rose even amid uncertainty about the pace of global economic growth and anticipated changes to the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy. Some fund managers have said that they see opportunities to buy if shares fall further in the region.

Write to Chao Deng at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires