ASIA REPORT: Nikkei:7,917.51 (-6.73) Hang Seng:13,846..09 (+336.31) Values at yesterday's close. MOST ASIAN stocks rose, led by electronics companies, as speculation oil prices near a four-year low will reduce companies costs and spur consumer spending countered a drop in commodity shares.
Nintendo, maker of the Wii video-game console, and Korea Electric Power gained more than 2 per cent as Merrill Lynch forecast oil prices will dive further.
Cnooc, China's largest offshore oil producer, lost 1 per cent. BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, sank 4.9 per cent as metal prices declined. Felix Resources, an Australian coal producer, soared 37 per cent on speculation it will be taken over. The lower oil price puts more money in the pockets of consumers and from a corporate point of view, it knocks quite a bit off the cost side, said Nader Naeimi, a Sydney-based strategist at AMP Capital Investors.
Miners and resources firms will lag the broader market until commodity prices turn. South Korea's Kospi Index advanced 2.1 per cent for its first gain this week. Hynix Semiconductor, the world's second-biggest memory chipmaker, climbed after Edaily reported creditors may provide financial support. - (Bloomberg)
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