Asian stocks up, Shanghai jumps on regulator comments

A man walks by the electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 11, 2013. Asian shares were mostly higher Monday, led by a surge on the Shanghai index after the securities regulator raised hopes for increased foreign investment in China’s stock market. AP PHOTO/ITSUO INOUYE

HONG KONG—Asian shares were mostly higher Monday, led by a surge on the Shanghai index after the securities regulator raised hopes for increased foreign investment in China’s stock market.

The euro made further gains after upbeat comments last week by the European Central Bank chief, and the yen slid again after reports that the Bank of Japan and government were poised to set a two-percent inflation target.

Shanghai surged 3.06 percent, or 68.74 points, to 2,311.74 after the head of China’s securities regulator, Guo Shuqing, said the investment quota for foreigners in the domestic equity market could be increased 10-fold.

Hong Kong rose 0.64 percent, or 149.19 points, to 23,413.26, Seoul added 0.52 percent, or 10.37 points, to 2,007.04 and Sydney closed up 0.22 percent, or 10.2 points, at 4,719.7.

But Singapore slipped 0.31 percent, or 9.91 points, to 3,206.59, pulled down by property stocks after the government introduced new measures at the weekend to cool the local market.

Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.

At a Hong Kong conference Monday, Guo said at present investment by foreign institutions—individuals are barred—accounts for “just 1.5 or 1.6 percent” of China’s A-share market, stock denominated in the domestic yuan currency.

He said the quota could be increased 10-fold in an effort to boost the stock market, without elaborating.

There was no clear lead from Wall Street, where stocks closed in mixed territory on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.13 percent, the broad-based S&P 500 was flat, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.12 percent.

Investors were looking ahead to a speech by US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke later Monday.

Minutes from the December meeting of Fed policymakers showed they were divided over how long the central bank should continue asset purchases.

But dealers thought Bernanke was likely to put an end to speculation that US policymakers may end the quantitative-easing program, with expectations about his comments pushing down the dollar.

“I’d be shocked if he said anything other than they’re buying bonds for the long haul,” said Davis Scutt, a currency trader at Arab Bank in Sydney.

After tumbling Friday when the Japanese government unveiled a stimulus package, the yen slid further as reports said the Bank of Japan and the government would jointly set a two-percent inflation target following pressure from new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The two sides are to finalize a joint statement on monetary measures in time for the central bank’s policy meeting on January 21-22, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

A weaker yen helps the country’s many exporters, as it makes their products cheaper abroad.

The euro has been surging since Thursday when ECB chief Mario Draghi said there was “a significant improvement in financial market conditions” in the single currency bloc.

On foreign exchange markets in Asian afternoon trade, the euro was at $1.3387, compared to $1.3341 in the US late Friday. The dollar was at 89.61 yen from 89.18 yen, and the euro traded at 119.96 yen from 119.00 yen.

Oil was up. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, rose 69 cents to $94.25 a barrel in the afternoon, and Brent North Sea crude for February delivery gained 43 cents to $111.07.

Gold was at $1,668.39 at 1035 GMT compared with $1,669.80 late Friday.

In other markets:

— Wellington rose 0.54 percent, or 22.16 points, to 4,153.92.

Fletcher Building added 1.61 percent to NZ$8.86, Telecom Corp rose 1.08 percent to NZ$2.335 and The Warehouse gained 0.66 percent to NZ$3.07.

— Taipei was flat, edging up 4.82 points to 7,823.97.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. gained 1.0 percent at Tw$102.0 while leading smartphone maker HTC climbed 5.1 percent to Tw$291.0.

— Manila advanced 0.70 percent, or 42.15 points, to 6,093.90.

Top-traded Bloomberry Resorts Corp. gained 1.54 percent to 13.16 pesos while BDO Unibank rose 2.46 percent to 77 pesos.

— Kuala Lumpur gained 0.11 percent, or 1.93 points, to 1,684.63.

YTL Power International added 3.8 percent to 1.66 ringgit, while Felda Global Ventures Holdings rose 0.7 percent to 4.61. Telekom Malaysia lost 0.5 percent to 5.79 ringgit.

— Bangkok added 0.92 percent, or 13.01 points, to 1,425.07.

Oil company PTT gained 2.15 percent to 333 baht, while telecoms firm Advanced Info Service lost 1.74 percent to 197.50 baht.

— Jakarta ended up 1.78 percent, or 76.59 points, at 4,382.50.

Miner Aneka Tambang jumped 4.35 percent to 1,440 rupiah and cigarette maker Gudang Garam rose 4.02 percent to 54,400 rupiah, while palm oil producer Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology slid 0.76 percent to 6,500 rupiah.

— Mumbai jumped 1.23 percent, or 242.77 points, to 19,906.41.

Property firm DLF rose 7.72 percent to 247.8 rupees, while IT outsourcer Infosys added 3.49 percent to 2,807.25.