ASIA MARKETS: Asian Shares Mixed, With Japan Up On Earnings

By Laura He, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japan markets rallied on upbeat corporate earnings on Thursday, while miners and financial stocks led Australia's benchmark stock index lower.

Other major markets in the region were closed for public holidays, including Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines.

In Japan, the Nikkei Average ended up 1.3%, and the Topix index settled 1.7% higher. IT giant Fujitsu jumped 6.3%, after it swung back to profit for the fiscal year to March 2014. Nomura Holdings , Japan's largest securities firm, also climbed 6.3%, as its earnings doubled to 213.6 billion yen ($2.1 billion) for the year ended March. Smaller rival Daiwa Securities Group gained 3.1%, after its net income more than doubled to 169.5 billion yen for last year, although its fourth-quarter profit declined for the first time in nine quarters.

Electronics giant Sony Corp. ended 1% higher. After the markets closed, the company said it expects a wider loss for the just-ended fiscal year as the cost of disposing its PC business weighed on the company as a whole.

Utilities also attracted much buyers' interest. Hokkaido Electric Power Company and Kyushu Electric Power Company surged 13.1% and 9.1% respectively, after the two companies said they would seek financial support from the government. Tokyo Electric Power Company advanced 3.9%, as it returned to profit for the first time in four years. Shikoku Electric Power Company and Chubu Electric Power Company rose 4.8% and 3.1% each.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen (USDJPY) was flat against the dollar and traded at Yen102.21, compared with Yen102.25 in the prior session.

In Australia, banks and miners dragged the markets lower, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing down 0.7%.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group dropped 1.2%, despite posting a 15% rise in net income for the six months ending March 31. Meanwhile, National Australia Bank was down 1.7%, Westpac Banking Corp. was off 1.2%, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia moved lower by 0.3%.

Mining companies suffered a selloff as iron ore prices fell sharply. Fortescue Metals Group tumbled 4%, Alumina lost 2.2%, Rio Tinto gave up 1.5%, and BHP Billiton pulled back 0.7%.

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