By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Asia stocks moved higher Tuesday,
although the extent of the gains varied across the region, with
Japanese stocks the outperformers after another bout of yen
weakness.
Investors in the Japanese stock market returned from a three-day
weekend to catch up with fresh multiyear lows for the yen, pushing
the Nikkei Stock Average up 1.1%.
Moves were less notable in other regional markets, with South
Korea's Kospi inching up 0.1% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index
rising 0.2%.
U.S. stocks ended Monday's session on a muted note ahead of
earnings due this week from some of the nation's biggest financial
groups, as well as a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke.
Bernanke spoke at 4 p.m. U.S. Eastern time, playing down fears
that the Fed's current bond-buying program would lead to high
inflation.
Major movers
With Japan's new government pushing for further easing to stamp
out deflation, the yen extended its march lower, with the dollar
(USDJPY) trading at Yen89.57 early Tuesday in Asia.
The weaker currency fueled fresh gains for major exporters, with
Sony Corp. (SNE) up 1.6%, Olympus Corp. (OCPNF) higher by 4.1%, and
Mazda Motor Corp. (7261.TO) rising 2%.
Banking giant Nomura Holdings Inc. (NMR) gained 2% after the
Nikkei cited Chief Executive Officer Koji Nagai as saying Nomura
would stick to its cost-cutting plans even though he sees the stock
market having reached a turning point.
Nagai said the Nikkei Average could 12,000 by mid-year.
However, some Japanese tech manufacturers suffered after reports
Monday that Apple Inc. (AAPL) has cut orders for iPhone 5 parts for
the current quarter due to weaker-than-expected demand.
Sharp Corp. (SHCAF) fell 4.2%, Murata Manufacturing Co.
(6981.OK) dropped 2.3%, and TDK Corp. (TTDKF) lost 2.9%.
LG Display Co. -- which, like Sharp, makes display panels for
the iPhone -- declined 1% in South Korea, partly offsetting a 1.7%
advance for auto giant Hyundai Motor Co. (HYMTF)(HYMTF).
Australian energy stocks gained following a four-month high for
benchmark U.S. crude futures overnight, with Beach Energy Ltd.
higher by 1.7%, though sector giant Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WOPEF)
rose a more modest 0.4%.
Shares of surfwear retailer Billabong International Ltd. jumped
13.6% to 95.5 Australian cents ($1.01) after VF Corp. (VFC) and
Altamont Capital Partners announced late Monday that they had
submitted a buyout offer for the firm, valuing it at 1.10
Australian dollars per share -- about $1.16 a share or $556 million
total in U.S. currency.
The VF offer matched a bid by private-equity firm Sycamore
Partners and former director Paul Naude.
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