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Asian Stocks Rebound as Tencent Jumps on Earnings, Santos on Bid

Asian Stocks Rebound as Tencent Jumps on Earnings, Santos on Bid

(Bloomberg) -- Asian equities climbed, snapping a four-day losing streak, as Tencent Holdings Ltd. led a rebound in technology shares.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.8 percent to 169.08 as of 4:25 p.m. in Hong Kong, with technology and healthcare stocks leading gains. Japan’s Topix index closed 1 percent higher for its first advance in five days, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.6 percent.

Asian traders are refocusing on improvements in corporate earnings after jitters over U.S. tax reform and China’s economic slowdown prompted some profit-taking earlier this week. Tencent was the biggest boost to the Asia-wide measure, rising 2.3 percent in Hong Kong after posting the fastest sales growth in seven years and beating the most optimistic analyst estimates.

Large companies like Tencent have helped bolster the market with strong earnings growth, even as concerns remain over the prospect of U.S. tax cuts, said Stanley Chik, research director at Bright Smart Securities in Hong Kong.

Santos Ltd. led gains on the MSCI regional index, surging 13 percent in Sydney for its highest close since August 2016, after saying it received a $7.2 billion takeover approach from a group led by a former Royal Dutch Shell Plc executive.

Summary

  • Nikkei 225 +1.5%
    • Japan Shares Stage Rebound With Topix Snapping Five-Day Decline
  • Hang Seng China Enterprises Index +1.1%; Shanghai Composite Index -0.1%
  • Taiex -0.1%
  • Kospi +0.7%, Kospi 200 +0.7%
    • Won Seen Rallying Into First Half on BOK Hikes, Risk Appetite
  • S&P/ASX 200 +0.2%; New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 +0.4%
    • How A Newspaper Company Created $300 Million in Equity Overnight
  • India’s Sensex +0.8%, Nifty 50 +0.7%
    • Indian Stocks Rebound From Three-Day Fall as Reliance Advances
    • Blockbuster Reforms May Take Back Seat as Modi Eyes Elections
  • Straits Times Index -0.6%, Malaysia’s KLCI -0.1%, Jakarta Composite Index +1.3%, Philippine Stock Exchange PSEi Index -0.8%, Vietnam’s VN Index +1.2%, Thailand’s SET Index +0.3%

To contact the reporter on this story: Fox Hu in Hong Kong at fhu7@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Divya Balji at dbalji1@bloomberg.net, Vivek Shankar

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.