By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Asian equity markets mostly rose
Thursday after Washington lawmakers voted to reopen the U.S.
government and raise the debt ceiling.
President Barack Obama signed the legislation passed by Congress
late Wednesday to restore federal operations, fund the government
through Jan. 15, and to raise the debt limit until Feb. 7. The
House passed the Senate-crafted bill by a 285-to-144 margin. Many
federal employees returned to their positions Thursday.
Investors worldwide had been concerned that the U.S. could
default on its debt obligations, resulting in a disruption of
business activity and long-running efforts to encourage global
economic growth.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 119.37, or 0.8%, to 14,586.51.
The export-heavy market was aided by the yen's pullback against the
U.S. dollar, which took strength from Washington's agreement.
South Korea's Kospi picked up 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2,040.61,
and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.4% higher, adding 20.20
points to 5,283.10.
But Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 133.45 points, or 0.6%,
to 23,094.88, and the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 4.53 points,
or 0.2%, to 2,188.54.
Now that Washington's latest showdown is over, the "focus will
soon turn to the delayed [U.S.] data releases and the economic
implication of shutdown," wrote Crédit Agricole analyst Gary Yau in
a note. "The fact that the same scenarios could happen again in a
few months' time will also play in investors' minds, but
nevertheless, we expect market tone to improve over the near
term."
The widely watched monthly U.S. jobs report is among the data
that weren't released during the 16-day government shutdown. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics will need three days to complete
September's report, said Crédit Agricole. That may result in it
being issued by next Tuesday.
Among the advancers, shares of Fujitsu Ltd. (FJTSY) topped
advancers as they tacked on 5.7%, and Mazda Motor Corp. (7261.TO)
rose 3.4%.
Also higher were shares of Kansai Electric Power Co. , rising
2.8% after the utility swung to a first-half pretax profit of 31
billion yen ($314 million).
Hong Kong advancers included ZTE Corp. (ZTCOY) , which traded 3%
higher after announcing it had garnered a "more-than-60% share of
the contracts in China Mobile's group tender for 100G Optical
Transport Networking products for 2013, exceeding the combined
total of all other vendors."
Stock in China Mobile Ltd. (CHL) dipped 0.5%.
Finance shares turned lower, with China's central bank ready to
take out 44.5 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) from the banking system
this week though regular open-market operations, according to Dow
Jones Newswires. Shares of Bank of China Ltd. (BACHY) lost 0.8%,
while Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. (ACGBF) fell 1.4%.
In Sydney, shares of Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCMGF) underperformed
the broader market, falling 0.6% after the gold producer said it
faces about 120 million Australian dollars ($115 million) in extra
tax charges this fiscal year.
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