Asia report: Markets rise as Beijing ups stake in big four banks

(Sharecast News) - Asia-Pacific markets finished a positive Thursday in the green, with Hong Kong leading the gains after China's sovereign wealth fund upped its stake in the country's big four banks. Investors were also keenly awaiting critical US consumer inflation data later in the global day to glean insights into the Federal Reserve's monetary policy trajectory.

"Asian equity markets saw gains, supported by Wall Street's rebound and dovish Fed commentary," said TickMill market analyst Patrick Munnelly.

"The Nikkei 225 advanced following softer PPI data and dovish comments from Bank of Japan board member [Asahi] Noguchi.

"The Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite were up, with Hong Kong leading the way by breaching the 18,000 handle.

"Chinese banks were bolstered by reports of China's sovereign wealth fund increasing its stake in domestic banks for the first time since 2015."

Hong Kong leads with late surge, rest of region follows

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong jumped 1.93%, closing at 18,238.21, propelled notably by a near-2% surge in the last hour of trading.

Notable performers included Xinyi Glass Holdings, surging by 8.19%; WuXi Biologics, climbing 5.75%; and China Construction Bank, with a 5.63% increase.

Japanese markets mirrored positivity, with the Nikkei 225 and Topix rising by 1.75% and 1.5%, closing at 32,494.66 and 2,342.49, respectively.

Amada and Yaskawa Electric were among the front runners on Tokyo's benchmark, with stocks ascending by 6.82% and 6.05%, respectively.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component experienced gains of 0.94% and 0.82%, settling at 3,107.90 and 10,168.49, respectively.

High flyers such as Anji Microelectronics Tech and EmbedWay Technologies Shanghai skyrocketed by 11.69% and 10.01% in Shanghai.

South Korea's Kospi also participated in the regional upswing, closing 1.21% higher at 2,479.82, with SK Holdings and HYBE posting significant gains of 8.01% and 7.66%, respectively.

Down under, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 barely skimmed positive territory with a slight 0.04% rise, ending at 7,091.00.

Nickel Industries and Domino's Pizza Enterprises emerged as the top performers, escalating by 5.26% and 4.29%.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 went against the regional trend to close 0.12% lower at 11,292.58.

Pacific Edge and Stride Property led the declines, falling 6.25% and 5.07%, respectively.

In the currency corridors, the dollar was last down 0.02% on the yen to trade at JPY 149.14, while it strengthened 0.05% against its Aussie counterpart to AUD 1.5599 and appreciated 0.33% on the Kiwi to change hands at NZD 1.6664.

Energy markets experienced a rise, with Brent crude futures climbing 1.24% on ICE to $86.88, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate rose by 0.97% to $84.30 per barrel.

China's Central Huijin amplifies bank stakes

In economic news, China's sovereign wealth fund, Central Huijin Investment, strategically increased its holdings in the big four Chinese banks overnight.

In a tactical shift not seen since 2015, the fund elevated its stakes in each bank by a precise 0.01 percentage point.

Following the move, shares of the banks in Hong Kong jumped across the board.

Bank of China rose 4.01%, while Agricultural Bank of China escalated 4.51%.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank saw their shares burgeon by 4.81% and 5.63%, respectively.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.