Japan stocks end higher; China car shares gain

By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Japanese stocks climbed Wednesday on a weakened yen and a positive lead from Wall Street, while Australian shares were weighed as heavyweight Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell after posting results.

The Nikkei Stock Average /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK -0.05%  ended 1.3% higher in Tokyo, helped by strong buying activity in late afternoon trade after the benchmark dipped into losses earlier in the day.

South Korea’s Kospi /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 +0.09%  gained 0.6% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO +0.34%  ended fractionally lower. China’s Shanghai Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP +0.10%  fell 0.3%.

Trading in Hong Kong was canceled because of a storm.

Tokyo Stock Exchange

Enlarge Image

Japanese stocks rise on a positive U.S. lead and a weakened yen.

Steel and automobile shares advanced in Tokyo as the U.S. dollar /zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled USDJPY +0.0442% rose above the ¥98-level.

“After a long period of underperformance, [the dollar’s rate against the yen] seems to be back in its stride and rallied through ¥98,” said IG Markets strategist Stan Shamu.

“Perhaps reports that Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe is considering lowering corporate-tax rates to counter the sales-tax hike will continue to gain momentum and underpin the Nikkei [Stock Average’s] rally,” Shamu said.

JFE Holdings Inc. /zigman2/quotes/204336633/delayed JP:5411 -2.69%   /zigman2/quotes/203557603/composite JFEEF +3.09%  rose 3%, and Kobe Steel Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/207391157/delayed JP:5406 -3.73%   added 3.7%, while Mazda Motor Corp. /zigman2/quotes/204777714/delayed JP:7261 -3.53% /zigman2/quotes/206326885/composite MZDAY -4.04% advanced 2.1%.

The stock performance in Asia followed a higher finish on Wall Street Tuesday, where U.S. markets got support from billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s disclosure that he held a sizeable stake in Apple Inc. /zigman2/quotes/202934861/composite AAPL +0.30% , as well as data showing U.S. retail sales grew for a third straight month in July.

In Sydney, shares of Commonwealth Bank /zigman2/quotes/200638713/delayed AU:CBA +0.02% /zigman2/quotes/207018701/composite CBAUF -0.34%  fell 1.2%, even as the lender reported a record profit for the year ended June 30 and increased its dividend payout.

“A solid result by Commonwealth Bank and a firm lead from U.S. markets will set the early tone in this morning’s market. However, investors will be keen to assess whether CBA’s result and dividend payment will be good enough to prevent some short-term profit-taking,” said CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner.

Click to Play

Icahn announces 'large' Apple stake; stock spikes

Activist investor Carl Icahn says on Twitter that he has taken a "large" position in Apple and urges its CEO to step up stock buybacks.

Other banks gained, however, after the strong results. National Australia Bank Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/210431826/delayed AU:NAB +0.66%   /zigman2/quotes/208329321/composite NABZY -0.21%  rose 0.8%, while Westpac Banking Corp. /zigman2/quotes/203084975/delayed AU:WBC +0.09%  advanced 1.1%.

Mining major Rio Tinto Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/200083756/delayed AU:RIO +1.02%   /zigman2/quotes/202627887/composite RIO -0.24%  fell 1.1% as the stock traded without rights to a dividend.

Financials and construction-related stocks were among decliners in Shanghai, giving back some recent gains. Anhui Conch Cement Co. /zigman2/quotes/204422624/delayed CN:600585 -0.15%  fell 1.7%, developer Gemdale Corp. /zigman2/quotes/208026094/delayed CN:600383 0.00%  lost 0.7% and Citic Securities Co. /zigman2/quotes/210326178/delayed CN:600030 -1.68%   /zigman2/quotes/207216844/composite CIIHF +13.95%  lost 0.9%.

But gains in automobile shares helped support the market. SAIC Motor Corp. /zigman2/quotes/201442870/delayed CN:600104 -0.27% jumped 2.9%, and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. /zigman2/quotes/202792755/delayed CN:600418 +3.88%  climbed 1.8% in Shanghai afternoon trading.

The rise in SAIC shares came after news that Huayu Automotive Systems Co., of which the automobile major owns 60%, had agreed to buy Visteon Corp.’s /zigman2/quotes/202094672/composite VC -0.47%  50% stake in their joint venture for $1.25 billion in cash.

/zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:NIK

NIKKEI 225 Index

JP : Nikkei

31,857.62

-14.90 -0.05%

Volume: 0.00

Sept. 29, 2023 3:15p

/zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed

Add to watchlist KR:SEU

KOSPI Composite Index

KR : Korea Exchange

2,465.07

+2.10 +0.09%

Volume: 366,241

Sept. 27, 2023 6:05p

/zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:XJO

S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index

AU : S&P ASX

7,048.60

+23.80 +0.34%

Volume: 776,826

Sept. 29, 2023 5:01p

/zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:SHCOMP

Shanghai Composite Index

CN : China: Shanghai

3,110.48

+3.16 +0.10%

Volume: 23.63B

Sept. 28, 2023 3:00p

/zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled

Add to watchlist USDJPY

Japanese Yen

US : Tullett Prebon

149.3690

+0.0660 +0.0442%

Volume: 0.0000

Sept. 29, 2023 4:59p

/zigman2/quotes/204336633/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:5411

JFE Holdings Inc.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 2,191.00

-60.50 -2.69%

Volume: 6.79M

Sept. 29, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

9.20

Dividend Yield

4.56%

Market Cap

¥1352.69 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥82.15M

/zigman2/quotes/203557603/composite

Add to watchlist JFEEF

JFE Holdings Inc.

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 15.70

+0.47 +3.09%

Volume: 50.00

Sept. 6, 2023 3:31p

P/E Ratio

9.07

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$8.76 billion

Rev. per Employee

$598,235

/zigman2/quotes/207391157/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:5406

Kobe Steel Ltd.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 1,949.00

-75.50 -3.73%

Volume: 17.34M

Sept. 29, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

10.00

Dividend Yield

4.62%

Market Cap

¥799.09 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥65.69M

/zigman2/quotes/204777714/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:7261

Mazda Motor Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 1,696.50

-62.00 -3.53%

Volume: 7.83M

Sept. 29, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

6.48

Dividend Yield

2.36%

Market Cap

¥1107.62 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥88.70M

/zigman2/quotes/206326885/composite

Add to watchlist MZDAY

Mazda Motor Corp. ADR

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 5.61

-0.24 -4.04%

Volume: 42,089

Sept. 29, 2023 3:59p

P/E Ratio

5.87

Dividend Yield

1.98%

Market Cap

$7.41 billion

Rev. per Employee

$646,321

/zigman2/quotes/202934861/composite

Add to watchlist AAPL

Apple Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 171.21

+0.52 +0.30%

Volume: 51.86M

Sept. 29, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

28.77

Dividend Yield

0.56%

Market Cap

$2668.61 billion

Rev. per Employee

$2.34M

/zigman2/quotes/200638713/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:CBA

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 99.97

+0.02 +0.02%

Volume: 2.44M

Sept. 29, 2023 4:10p

P/E Ratio

17.72

Dividend Yield

4.50%

Market Cap

$167.37 billion

Rev. per Employee

$992,761

/zigman2/quotes/207018701/composite

Add to watchlist CBAUF

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 65.07

-0.22 -0.34%

Volume: 5,836

Sept. 14, 2023 12:44p

P/E Ratio

17.15

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$110.25 billion

Rev. per Employee

$667,779

/zigman2/quotes/210431826/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:NAB

National Australia Bank Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 29.07

+0.19 +0.66%

Volume: 4.09M

Sept. 29, 2023 4:10p

P/E Ratio

13.10

Dividend Yield

5.54%

Market Cap

$90.72 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.08M

/zigman2/quotes/208329321/composite

Add to watchlist NABZY

National Australia Bank Ltd. ADR

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 9.31

-0.02 -0.21%

Volume: 85,958

Sept. 29, 2023 3:59p

P/E Ratio

12.29

Dividend Yield

5.63%

Market Cap

$57.83 billion

Rev. per Employee

$735,454

/zigman2/quotes/203084975/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:WBC

Westpac Banking Corp.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 21.15

+0.02 +0.09%

Volume: 5.90M

Sept. 29, 2023 4:10p

P/E Ratio

12.47

Dividend Yield

6.34%

Market Cap

$74.05 billion

Rev. per Employee

$949,061

/zigman2/quotes/200083756/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:RIO

Rio Tinto Ltd.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 113.55

+1.15 +1.02%

Volume: 1.17M

Sept. 29, 2023 4:10p

P/E Ratio

14.45

Dividend Yield

5.17%

Market Cap

$165.04 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.45M

/zigman2/quotes/202627887/composite

Add to watchlist RIO

Rio Tinto PLC ADR

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 63.64

-0.15 -0.24%

Volume: 3.33M

Sept. 29, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

11.79

Dividend Yield

6.30%

Market Cap

$105.81 billion

Rev. per Employee

$999,665

/zigman2/quotes/204422624/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:600585

Anhui Conch Cement Co. Ltd. A

CN : China: Shanghai

¥ 26.03

-0.04 -0.15%

Volume: 7.69M

Sept. 28, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

11.22

Dividend Yield

5.69%

Market Cap

¥129.09 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥2.68M

/zigman2/quotes/208026094/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:600383

Gemdale Corp. A

CN : China: Shanghai

¥ 6.82

0.00 0.00%

Volume: 32.58M

Sept. 28, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

5.43

Dividend Yield

1.99%

Market Cap

¥30.79 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥2.93M

/zigman2/quotes/210326178/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:600030

CITIC Securities Co. Ltd. A

CN : China: Shanghai

¥ 21.66

-0.37 -1.68%

Volume: 85.44M

Sept. 28, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

14.98

Dividend Yield

2.26%

Market Cap

¥301.60 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥3.49M

/zigman2/quotes/207216844/composite

Add to watchlist CIIHF

CITIC Securities Co. Ltd.

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 1.96

+0.24 +13.95%

Volume: 0.00

Aug. 16, 2023 2:21p

P/E Ratio

9.43

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$44.27 billion

Rev. per Employee

$502,448

/zigman2/quotes/201442870/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:600104

SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. A

CN : China: Shanghai

¥ 14.80

-0.04 -0.27%

Volume: 11.94M

Sept. 28, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

10.44

Dividend Yield

2.28%

Market Cap

¥171.46 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥3.47M

/zigman2/quotes/202792755/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:600418

Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp. Ltd. A

CN : China: Shanghai

¥ 13.11

+0.49 +3.88%

Volume: 91.37M

Sept. 28, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

¥27.56 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥1.90M

/zigman2/quotes/202094672/composite

Add to watchlist VC

Visteon Corp.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 138.07

-0.65 -0.47%

Volume: 369,678

Sept. 29, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

29.95

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$3.91 billion

Rev. per Employee

$404,000