SSNHZ Samsung Electronics Company Ltd (PK)

By Kenan Machado 

Asia-Pacific equity markets broke away from their recent lockstep trading, as the global stock rout over the past two weeks abated and local factors took center stage.

U.S. benchmarks rose modestly Tuesday after fresh declines in most of Europe. The S&P 500's trading range, which was within the levels the index moved on Monday, indicates "overall caution" among investors, said Ric Spooner, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.

Indexes in Hong Kong and South Korea rose more than 0.5% Wednesday, with the Kospi helped by a 2.9% jump in Samsung Electronics. That put the electronic giant's gains for the week at 9.4%, which erased most of the month's decline.

In Hong Kong, index heavyweight Tencent Holdings is up 5% this week, nearly halving its February pullback.

Japanese stocks fared the worst, pressured by a rallying yen. The Nikkei Stock Average was recently down 1.2% as the U.S. dollar fell to a 15-month low of Yen106.85. It traded around Yen108.30 at the end of stock trading Tuesday.

Cautious risk sentiment amid stock volatility is likely buoying the safe-haven currency, said Heng Koon How, head of markets strategy for United Overseas Bank in Singapore. He said he expects the yen to remain strong, with some Bank of Japan officials facing the end of their term in next two months.

The yen's move came as Japan said its fourth-quarter economic growth slowed, missing analysts' expectations. Still, the economy has grown for eight straight quarters, the longest run in 28 years.

New Zealand's NZX 50 closed down 0.8% as Fletcher Building slumped 9.3% to a two-year low after it revealed additional losses at its building-and-interiors division. The company's shares were halted for nearly a week after Fletcher said Thursday it expected more red ink for the segment.

Chinese stocks were slightly lower ahead of the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday. Markets there will be closed until Feb. 22.

U.S. consumer inflation data is due to be released later Wednesday. Inflation worries have driven global bond yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was recently at 2.81% versus 2.837% in late New York trading.

Write to Kenan Machado at kenan.machado@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2018 23:47 ET (04:47 GMT)

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