ASIA MARKETS: Asian Stocks Rise; Australia Hits Six-year High

By Daniel Inman

HONG KONG--Asian markets rose Thursday, with gains in the resource sector helping Australian stocks hit a six-year high.

The S&P ASX 200 rose by as much as 0.8% to 5561.10, putting it marginally above its April peak of 5554.5, as the market reacted well to a strong overnight session in the U.S. that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) to close at a record high.

The strong trading volume early in Australia's trading day was inflated by the expiration of July index options, and the market pared its gains as the session progressed--last trading up 0.5% at 5545.90.

Strong U.S. earnings reports and corporate-deal activity buoyed investors, as did comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen that the central bank would keep interest rates low for an extended time.

Miners in Australia were adding to gains from the previous session, brought about by healthy production reports and better-than-expected Chinese growth data for the second quarter. Fortescue Metals Group added 3.4% and Rio Tinto was up 1.6%.

Also in Sydney, shares in Woodside Petroleum rose 0.8% after the company said its sales revenue jumped 25% in the second quarter and improved its production guidance.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi gained 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.3%, while the yen (USDJPY) was a touch stronger in Asian trade, last changing hands at Yen101.56 to the dollar from Yen101.68 late Wednesday in New York.

In China, stocks were mixed, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index adding 0.1%, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.3%.

In corporate news, shares in Fuji Heavy Industries added 0.6% after a Nikkei report said that the manufacturer of Subaru cars likely saw operating profit climb 15% on a year-to-year basis to about Yen80 billion ($786 million) this past quarter.

In Taiwan, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 4.6% after the world's largest contract chip maker forecast a strong third quarter after reporting record second-quarter earnings. The stock fell after the results came out as investors took profit on a stock that has performed strongly this year, and still remains 18% up year-to-date.

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