Most Asian stocks higher; Nikkei soars 3.11% on BoJ news

Investing.com - Most Asian stocks traded higher on Wednesday, lifted by an increased profit outlook by Toyota, the world’s largest automobile maker, and news out of the Bank of Japan that traders viewed as positive.

In Asian trading Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 3.11% after Toyota boosted its profit forecast to a five-year high. USD/JPY rallied after BoJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa announced on Tuesday that he will leave his post on March 19, nearly three weeks before he originally intended to. Two of Shirakawa’s deputy governors will also depart on March 19.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.58%, but stocks on mainland China drifted lower with the Shanghai Composite off by 0.05%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.8% despite slack retail sales data. Earlier today, Australia’s Bureau of Statistics said retail sales there fell for a third consecutive month in December. Australian retail sales dipped by 0.2% to AUD21.4 billion. That reading compares with a November reading which also showed a decline of 0.2%. Analysts expected a December increase of 0.3%.

The three-month stretch in which Australian retail sales have declined is the country’s longest such streak in 13 years. On an inflation-adjusted basis, the December number rose 0.1%, but analysts still expected a 0.3% on that basis.

Financial services and mining shares lead the rebound in Australian equities. New Zealand’s NZSE 50 50 index is closed for the Waitangi Day public holiday.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.8% on speculation the yen’s continued weakness will spark South Korea’s central bank to intervene in the currency market to weaken the won and protect the country’s exporters. Last month, South Korean Finance Minister Bahk Jae-Wan said the country is ready to intervene in the currency markets if necessary.

Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.01% while S&P 500 inched dipped 0.05% after the benchmark U.S. index gained over 1% during Tuesday’s session.