Asia report: Most markets follow Wall Street higher

Markets in Asia finished mostly higher on Thursday, after a bumper session on Wall Street in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 21,000 for the first time as expectations grew for an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve in March.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.88% to 19,564.80, with the broader Topix index finishing up 0.75% at 1,564.69.

The yen remained relatively weaker against the greenback, and was last off 0.47% at JPY 114.27 per $1.

That weaker yen led to a green day for most of the major exporters, with Canon up 1.31%, Honda rising 0.62% and Sony 1.52% firmer.

Shares in technology conglomerate Toshiba added 2.7% after reports that Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry - better known by its trading name Foxconn - was planning a bid for Toshiba’s valuable memory chip division.

The company was looking to sell off a chunk of the division to release cash as it faced a liquidity crisis, but had rebuffed earlier attempts by South Korean firm SK Hynix as it deemed the suitor wanted too big a stake.

Foxconn has been expanding its reach in the Japanese technology sector recently, having acquiring Sharp in 2016.

Financial stocks were also higher, with Mitsubishi UFJ up 1.98% and Mizuho 1.33% higher.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.5% to 3,230.57, while the smaller, technology-focussed Shenzhen Composite was down 0.55% at 1,997.71.

In South Korea, the Kospi was up 0.52% to 2,102.65 as South Korean traders returned from a public holiday on Wednesday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was off 0.2% at 23,728.07.

Seoul’s banking sector reflected the positivity seen in the rest of the region, with DGB Financial 2.4% higher by the end of the session.

The potential for higher interest rates stateside led to the positive session for banks and financial institutions in Asia, as higher rates could boost their earnings.

“Markets now put an 80 percent probability of a March hike, more than double the odds of one week ago”, noted analysts at DBS Bank in Singapore, on the likelihood of the Federal Reserve raising its interest rate targets this month.

Oil prices were lower during Asian hours, with Brent crude last down 0.9% at $55.86 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate off 0.94% at $53.33.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.26% to 5,776.58, with the weighty financials subindex giving the wider benchmark a boost.

The major banks in the region were all up more than 1%, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group up 1%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia 1.27% higher, National Australia Bank adding 1.06% and Westpac Banking Corporation 1.03% firmer.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 was up 0.4% at 7,175.82, led higher by retirement residential developers Metlifecare and Summerset, which were up 1.7% and 1.9% respectively.

Medical technology manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which is seen by many locally as a predictor of US market sentiment due to its exposure to the export market, was up 0.8%.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.75% at AUD 1.3125 and the Kiwi retreating 0.59% to NZD 1.4079 per $1.