By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Asia stocks mostly gained Tuesday after
a mild advance on Wall Street, but the Japanese market fell in
choppy trade amid weakness for utilities.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index
advanced 0.3%, and New Zealand's NZX 50 added 0.2%.
But Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.2% after ending the
previous session with a modest 0.1% gain.
The moves came after U.S. stocks edged higher Monday, with the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and the S&P 500 index (SPX)
hitting their highest levels since the presidential election in
early November.
Wall Street's gains occurred amid signs of progress in talks
over the fiscal cliff of billions of dollars in upcoming U.S. tax
hikes and spending cuts.
Weekend statements on the negotiations released by the U.S.
president and the speaker of the House were identical, "which we
interpret as a positive sign that the two sides are closer to an
agreement" said Yelena Shulyatyeva, economist at BNP Paribas.
In Japanese trading, the volatile utility sector was dragging on
the market, with Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501.TO) down 2.1%,
Chubu Electric Power Co. (9502.TO) dropping 5.1%, and Kansai
Electric Power Co. tumbling 7.1%.
Helping sour sentiment toward the sector, the Japanese
government concluded late Monday that the Tsuruga nuclear power
station operated by the unlisted Japan Atomic Power Co. -- in which
many of the major utilities hold stakes -- is likely sitting on an
active fault and may be decommissioned, according to a Nikkei news
report.
On the upside in Tokyo, Renesas Electronics Corp. (RNECY) jumped
9% after the firm confirmed late Monday that it will receive up to
200 billion yen ($2.43 billion) of capital in a deal that will see
a government-backed fund emerge with a near-70% stake in the
loss-making technology firm.
Sharp Corp. (SHCAF) gained 3.9% after a separate Nikkei report
that Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp. and Mizuho Trust &
Banking Co. will lend the firm ¥20 billion, while Resona Bank
is also mulling a ¥20 billion loan. The lenders' parent firms
-- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MTU) and Resona Holdings
Inc. (8308.TO) -- saw their shares fall 0.3% each.
South Korean trading saw chip maker SK Hynix Inc. (HXSCL)
advance 1.5% although its larger rival Samsung Electronics Co.
(SSNLF) retreated from an all-time high hit Monday with a 0.5%
decline.
Australian shares moved back up to a level not seen since mid
October, with miners fuelling the gains after some strong
performances for metal futures in New York on Monday.
Iron-ore extractor Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FSUMY) climbed
3.3%, diversified mining group BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) rose 1.5%,
and rival Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) also advanced 1.5%.
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