Asia report: Most markets higher as gambling stocks recover

Most Asian markets finished higher on Tuesday, with oil prices rising and gambling stocks recovering some of their losses after the detention of a number of Australian casino employees by the Chinese authorities at the weekend.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 reversed earlier losses and eked out a 0.38% gain to 16,963.61 by the closing bell, while the broader Topix was up 0.3% to 1,356.57.

The hefty Fast Retailing underpinned the gains, as it advanced 2.02%.

A weaker yen also helped to boost domestic shares - the currency was last 0.1% softer at JPY 103.99 per $1.

That saw major exporters close mostly higher, with Honda rising 0.72%, Nissan adding 0.31%, Sharp up 1.44% and Sony 1.34% firmer.

Toyota was the odd one out, with its stock closing down 0.66%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.38% to 3,083.08, with the smaller, tech-heavy Shenzhen Composite gaining 1.43% to 2,056.59.

In South Korea, the Kospi added 0.63% to close at 2,040.43, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 1.55% to 23,394.39

Hong Kong-listed gaming shares were recovering on Tuesday, with Galaxy Entertainment, Melco International and Wynn Macau all posting advances of at least 3%.

Oil prices were higher during Asian trading, with Brent crude last up 0.77% at $51.92 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate gaining 0.89% to $50.39.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.41% firmer at 5,410.80, with the hefty financials sector adding 0.44%, while the energy subindex was virtually flat.

Shares in Crown Resorts managed to finish 1.7% higher, after posting a 13.9% fall on Monday.

The drop at the start of the week came after reports that 18 of Crown’s staff, including executive vice-president of the international VIP business Jason O’Connor, were being held in China.

China’s Foreign Ministry reported on Monday that the Australian nationals were under “criminal detention” for their “suspected involvement in gambling crimes”.

It later emerged they had been held since 14 October, with Australian consular officials in Shanghai said to be attempting to visit those in detention.

It was still not clear why the group was being held, but it is illegal for casinos to advertise in China, and promoting offshore gambling by offering credit to high rollers or marketing resort facilities can also be a legal grey area.

Crown’s Australian rival Star Entertainment did not ride the same recovery wave, however, and still closed down 0.54% on Tuesday.

Energy shares in the sunburnt country were higher, with Oil Search adding 1.13% and Santos up 1.1%.

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was in the red, however, losing 1.32% to 6,973.09, with fresh data suggesting domestic prices has risen more than anticipated.

Statistics New Zealand’s consumer price index was up 0.2% quarter-on-quarter, compared to a Reuters-polled economist forecast for it to be flat.

Annual inflation was 0.2%, down from 0.4% in the prior quarter.

Analysts were quick to point out that the data was well within the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s expectations, with ANZ senior economist Philip Borkin saying the reading won’t “stand in the way of [the central bank] cutting the official cash rate again”.

RBNZ is due to revise the country’s interest rates again in November - the OCR currently stands at a record low 2%.

Gambling operator SkyCity Entertainment - which owns large casinos in New Zealand and Australia - was also not participant in Tuesday's recovery, losing 1.35% in Wellington.

The inflation data sent the smaller of the two down under dollars stronger, with the Kiwi last 0.83% firmer against the greenback at NZD 1.3898, while the Aussie was also ahead, gaining 0.69% to AUD 1.3018 per $1.