Chinese Stocks Lead Asian Gains

Gazala Parveen is an assistant site editor for Morningstar.com based in Mumbai, India.

The Shanghai Composite finished 3.1% higher, its best performance since December 14^th. The Hang Seng gained 0.6%. The Sensex finished up 1.2% while the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries edged up 0.3% at close.

Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.

Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission said China could raise quotas to let foreign investors and offshore yuan holders in Hong Kong to purchase stocks and bonds in the mainland.

Meanwhile, the yen plunged to its lowest level in 2-1/2 years against the dollar as pressure mounted on the Bank of Japan to initiate bold monetary easing measures.

Prime minister Shinzo Abe said yesterday he was looking for "someone who could push through bold monetary policy" to head the Bank of Japan. The greenback also slipped to a 10-month low against the euro after Charles Evans, president of the Fed Reserve Bank of Chicago, said the central bank should follow accommodative policies to boost economic growth.

Stocks on the move

Financials, tech plays and pharma stocks were among the top gainers on the mainland Chinese markets.

Shanghai-listed Citic Securities scored nearly 7% while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China moved up 2.1%. China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank were up more than 2% each.

Tasly Pharmaceuticals rose close to 4% while Guangzhou Pharma jumped 4.8%. The broader Shenzhen-listed?Hualan Biological Engineering soared 10%.

Among other solid performers, China Avic Avionics Equipment surged 10% while China Shipping Container Lines added 3.2%.

In Hong Kong, property developers moved up the ladder. Poly Property Group bounced around 4% while China Resources Land Ltd.?was up 3.1%.

In corporate news,?global logistics services provider?Li & Fung said it expected its 2012 core operating profit to come in 40% lower. Shares of the company?plunged more than 15% on heels of the news.

Also on the downside, Samsonite International S.A. lost 3.5% after reports said CVC Capital Partners Ltd. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group sold shares in the luggage maker to raise a combined $289 million.

In Mumbai, IT stocks gained ground after Infosys third-quarter results came in better than expected Friday.? Shares of the IT-giant extended gains today, leading the field, up 3.5%.

TCS followed closely, adding over 2% ahead of its quarterly earnings later today.

Among other gainers on the Sensex were some defensive plays ? FMCG giant ITC added 1.6% while telecom leader Bharti Airtel moved up 1.5% and Dr. Reddys Lab tacked on a percent.

Defensive stocks also found some buying interest in Sydney. Real estate firms Stockland Corp. and Henderson Group Plc. were up 1.4% and 2.3% respectively.

Mayne Pharma Group added 1.5% while Genetic Technologies gained 2.6%.

Among media stocks, Ten Network Holdings jumped over 6% but Seven West Media lost 3%.

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Source: http://news.morningstar.com/article/article.asp?id=580885&pgid=rss

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