Most Asian markets rise; energy-related shares lead gains in China, Japan

The Associated Press ,  Bangkok   |  Wed, 04/23/2008 6:25 PM  |  Business

Most Asian markets rose Wednesday, with energy-linked shares boosting gains in China, Hong Kong and Japan.

The Nikkei 225 stock index rose 0.23 percent to 13,579.2. The Hang Seng rose 1.4 percent to 25,289.2. And the Shanghai Composite Index jumped 4.2 percent to 3,278.3, its third consecutive gain.

In Japan, the key to rising energy shares was the overnight record for oil prices in the U.S. on concerns of unstable supply. Light, sweet crude for May delivery nearly hit US$120 in its last trading session in the U.S. on Tuesday, and the June contract, now the front-month, was trading near $118 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Shares in Nippon Oil Corp., Japan's biggest refiner, rose 7.4 percent, and rival Idemitsu Kosan Co. jumped 10.7 percent.

But in China and Hong Kong, Chinese oil companies jumped as well after PetroChina said earlier in the week that it would receive a government subsidy and get a full refund on value-added tax on oil imports to compensate it for ballooning refining losses.

Chinese refiners have been buffeted by the run-up in international oil prices because domestic price controls have kept them from passing their increased costs to customers.

PetroChina's Hong Kong shares rose 4.8 percent on Wednesday and have gained 12 percent since Monday. PetroChina rose 3.2 percent on its Shanghai listing.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, rose 3.8 percent in Hong Kong and 0.7 percent in Shanghai.

Shares in China and Hong Kong got broad support from expectations that Beijing will soon roll out more market-boosting measures. Chinese regulators reportedly appealed to mutual funds to stop dumping shares to help support the market after the Shanghai index dipped below the 3,000 level during trading Tuesday.

In Hong Kong, Chinese insurers posted the largest blue-chip gains, with Ping An Insurance rising 5 percent and China Life up 2.8 percent. PICC Property & Casualty ended 4.6 percent higher. In China, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China advanced 2.8 percent.

Market observers in Japan expected trading volume to pick up in coming days as major Japanese companies report their earnings results for the just-ended fiscal year.

Elsewhere in Asia, major benchmarks rose in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea. Losses were posted in India, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.

In currencies, the dollar rose against the yen, standing at 103.24 yen at 6:50 p.m. in Tokyo (0950 GMT), up from 103.09 yen late Tuesday in New York. The euro stood at US$1.5953, up from US$1.5916. (****)

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