Asian Shares Mixed, Japan Rises on Sales-Tax Delay

Stocks in Japan rose Wednesday after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a delay to a tax increase, easing worries about further pressure on an already contracting economy.

The Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.2%, as the dollar hit a fresh high against the Japanese yen. The dollar breached Yen117 and last traded at Yen117.02, from Yen116.85 late Tuesday in New York.

Tokyo was extending its 2.2% gain yesterday, when the market rallied as officials weighed steps to revive Japan's economy. Late Tuesday, Mr. Abe called a snap election for December, giving the public a chance to render a verdict on his program to revitalize Japan, which has brought a booming stock market and job gains but also weighed the country with two quarters of contraction. Mr. Abe also postponed a sales-tax increase, though given worries about Japan's debt--now twice the size of the country's economy--he promised the tax would rise in 2017.

The gains come after Tokyo saw its second biggest point loss this year on Monday, when the country reported that it had slipped into a recession during the July-September quarter. The index fell 517.03 points Monday, the sharpest point loss since February fourth when it dropped 610.66 points.

The market was also buoyed by gains overseas. On Wall Street overnight, stocks rose to another record on signals that officials in Europe and Japan are open to stimulating their economies.

Meanwhile, Japan's corporates are moderating the perk from its stimulus news. SoftBank Corp. was down 1.7% after a management shake-up at its U.S.-listed unit Sprint Corp . Sprint's new CEO is shuffling top executives as he tries to turn around the nation's struggling, third-place wireless carrier.

Takata Corp. plunged 5.2% after the U.S.'s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration called for car makers nationwide to recall the firm's air bags. Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., and Nissan Motor Co. already recalled Takata's potentially explosive air bags earlier this year.

The rest of the region traded mixed. The Hang Seng Index was up 0.1% and the Shanghai Composite Index was flat.

Write to Chao Deng at [e-mail]

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