Asian markets mostly higher with Sony earnings boosting Tokyo (MarketWatch) (15-05-2008)

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Among gaining markets in Asia, Japan rallied led by Sony Corp. after the electronics giant reported a better-than-forecast annual profit.

Sony stock surged 9.1% and helped drive Japan's Nikkei 225 Average 0.94% higher to 14,251.74. The broader Topix index jumped to 1.6% to 1,394.26.

Wednesday, Sony announced a net income of 369.4 billion yen ($3.5 billion) for the year ended March 31, up from 126.3 billion yen in the previous year.

Among declining markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.15% to 25,495.73 and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0.26% to 14,016.84 in Hong Kong.

China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.55% to 3,637.32, while the Shenzhen All Share index fell 0.52% to 1,133.14.

South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.6% to 1,873.49, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5% to 5,903.50 and New Zealand's NZX 50 index slipped 0.3% to 3,617.61. Taiwan's Weighted index rose 1.1%, while Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.5% to 3,214.45.

Shares of Sharp added 2.2% and Toyota gained 2.1% in Tokyo, after the overnight gains on Wall Street.

Financials also advanced, with Mizuho jumping 3.1% and Nomura Holdings Inc. climbing 3%.

Elsewhere, Commonwealth Bank of Australia stock rose 1.6% in Sydney and Kookmin Bank added 0.3% in Seoul. In Hong Kong, Bank of East Asia rose 3.1%, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. stock climbed 1.4% in Singapore.

  SourceMarketWatch