ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks Climb Back From Heavy Losses

By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks on Thursday rebounded from the previous day's sharp losses, with strong earnings from Australia's Telstra Corp. helping lift Sydney shares, while those in Tokyo gained ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy decision.

After opening lower, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 0.6% in volatile trade, recouping some losses after a 4% plunge on Wednesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.5%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.4%, South Korea's Kospi added 0.3%, and the Shanghai Composite inched up 0.1%.

The broad gains came in spite of a third straight day of losses on Wall Street amid uncertainty over the timing of the Federal Reserve's widely expected reduction in monthly bond purchases.

"Markets have moved into a 'sell on the rumor, buy on the fact' mode in the wake of the end of the U.S. [earnings reporting] season and rising concerns about U.S. Fed's tapering," said Perpetual head of investment research Matthew Sherwood.

U.S. equity futures also edged higher during Asian stock trade, with those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU3) and the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPU3) each adding 0.3%.

In Tokyo, bargain buying after Wednesday's steep losses propped up the market, even as the U.S. dollar (USDJPY) fell further to slide under the Yen97-level.

Softbank Corp. (9984.TO) rose 1.4%, Fast Retailing Co. (FRCOY) gained 1.6%, and Fanuc Corp. (FANUY) rose 1.7%. All three stocks are still down at least 3% this week.

Investors were also looking ahead to the Bank of Japan's policy announcement later Thursday.

In Sydney, meanwhile, shares of Telstra (TTRAF) rose 1.6% after the telecommunications major posted a forecast-beating 12% increase in annual profit.

Shares of mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) tacked on 0.4% before the release of its own financial results.

Over in Hong Kong, shares of China Resources Land Ltd. (CRBJF) rose 1.6%, while Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. (CHEUY) and Bank of China Ltd. (BACHY) each added 1%.

The performance in Shanghai was mixed as investors awaited China's monthly trade data.

Automobile maker SAIC Motor Corp. rose 1.6%, and Jiangxi Copper Co. (JIXAY) climbed 1.8%, while developer Gemdale Corp. shed 1.1%, and China Minsheng Banking Corp. (CMAKY) lost 0.4%.

In Seoul, KB Financial Group Inc. (KB) rose 1%, and Shinhan Financial Group Co. (SHG) added 0.6%, after the Bank of Korea left its policy interest rate unchanged, as widely expected.

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