Asian Shares Mostly Up, Japan Gains on Yen

Stocks in Japan extended gains for a second day Wednesday, with the yen continuing to trade near a seven-year low and after U.S. stocks marked their fifth-straight record close overnight.

The Nikkei Stock Average was up 1.5%, adding to a 2.1% gain yesterday as investors speculated that the government might delay a planned sales tax increase in response to a steadily worsening fiscal situation.

The dollar traded as high as Yen115.83, compared with Yen115.80 in New York late Tuesday. The dollar hit a seven-year high against the Japanese yen yesterday, breaking through Yen116 for the first time since October 2007. A stronger dollar is beneficial to Japanese exporters who pay costs in local currency and repatriate dollar earnings from abroad.

Automobile makers advanced, with Nissan Motor Co. climbing 1.9%, Toyota Motor Corp. up 1.8%, and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. higher by 1.5%. Technology exporters gained further, as electronics giant Sharp Corp. jumped 2.4%, electronics component maker TDK Corporation rose 2.1%, and camera maker Olympus Corp. added 1.8%.

The gains came after Wall Street crept higher overnight, although analysts noted that trading was lackluster.

The dollar was also rising to 1101.40 against the Korean won. It traded as high as 1102.71 won in early morning Asia trade, the highest since September 2013.

Australia's S&P ASX/200 was down 0.7% and Korea's Kospi was flat.

In Hong Kong, Chinese Internet games and communications giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday. It is expected to report a net profit of 6.15 billion yuan ($1 billion), a 58% increase from a year earlier.

Write to Chao Deng at [e-mail]

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