ASIA MARKETS: Tokyo Stocks Rise Ahead Of Bank Of Japan Decision

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 1% in volatile trade, recouping some losses after a 4% plunge on Wednesday.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.3%, and South Korea's Kospi inched up 0.1% ahead of the outcome of a Bank of Korea policy meeting.

The 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.

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 2.1%, Fast Retailing Co. (FRCOY) gained 1.5%, 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 1.5% after the telecommunications major posted a forecast-beating 12% increase in annual profit.

Shares of mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) tacked on 0.3% before the release of its own financial results.

Asian markets were also awaiting China's July trade data, due out later in the day.

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