By Mia Lamar
A sudden reversal in the yen lifted Japanese shares Thursday,
while a looming weeklong holiday weighed on stocks in China.
Japan's Nikkei staged an intraday rebound after a knee-jerk
weakening of the yen sent exporter stocks higher. Traders cited
market speculation surrounding reforms to Japan's public pensions
as the cause for the currency's sharp move. An advisory panel for
Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund met Thursday and was
expected to issue a report well after the market closed.
The dollar (USDJPY) was last changing hands at 98.91 yen, after
earlier breaking above Yen99, compared with Yen98.43 late Wednesday
in New York. Medical-equipment maker Terumo closed 3.4% higher and
electronics firm Sharp Corp. rose 2.6%.
Japan's benchmark index finished up 1.2% after falling as much
as 1.5% earlier in the session.
Stocks in China pointed in the other direction, with the
Shanghai Composite falling 1.9% as investors reduced exposure ahead
of a weeklong Golden Week market holiday starting Tuesday.
A thin calendar elsewhere in Asia left stocks to take most
direction from a weak session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500
stock index (SPX) recorded its longest losing streak since
December.
Contentious budget negotiations in Washington were again a drag
on the U.S. market, as was confusion surrounding U.S. monetary
policy following the surprise Federal Reserve decision last week to
maintain the pace of its bond buying.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.4%, Taiwan's Taiex lost 1.2%
and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.4% higher.
"People are still scratching their heads, trying to figure out
why the Fed delayed," said Jiong Shao, head of China strategy at
Macquarie. "What did they see that made them have a 180-degree
turn?"
Shares of Hong Kong retail middleman Li & Fung Ltd., which
sources products for U.S. retailers such as Target Corp. (TGT) and
Kohl's Corp.(KSS) , fell 3.1% following a report that Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. (WMT) is struggling to unload inventory. A spokeswoman
for Wal-Mart called the report "misleading."
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires