Asian Rally on Exporters and Resources (MarketWatch) (17-04-2008)

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Another rally for Asian markets on Thursday was led by exporters and resource stocks following the upbeat session on Wall Street.

Exporters lifted Japanese shares, while rising commodity prices and renewed M&A chatter fired resource companies.

Conversely, mainland China saw some volatility after the central bank Wednesday increased banks' reserve requirement by half a percentage point to 16%, in attempt to cool inflation, which rose 8.3% from the year-ago month.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Average climbed 1.9% to 13,393.93 and the broader Topix index added 1.4% to 1,290.21, with both extending their advance into a third session.

The Shanghai Composite recently dropped 1% to 3,258.81, after rising as high as 3,352.95 earlier in the day.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 2.1% to 24,381.37, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index soared 3.1% to 12,986.02.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1% to 5,523, taking gains into a third session.

Shares of Japanese exporters were helped by the overnight close on Wall Street, as well as a weakened yen. Shares of Canon surged 4.7% and Honda Motor Co. added 4.1% in Tokyo.

Financial stocks also jumped across the region on better-than-expected results from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group advanced 2.7% and Mizuho Financial Group rallied 4.7%.

On the Australian Securities Exchange, shares of Rio Tinto advanced 4.2%, helped by reports that larger rival BHP Billiton is about to increase its takeover offer for the miner. Shares of BHP added 1%.

Source MarketWatch