Japan Stocks Advance on BOJ Bond Purchases; HK Shares End Up On HSBC

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose for a fourth day, the longest streak in two months, on optimism central bank measures will ease credit markets and avert a deeper recession.Resona Holdings Inc., the nation’s No. 4 listed bank, jumped 5.4 percent after the Bank of Japan said it will increase government debt purchases from banks to spur lending. Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., the country’s largest property insurer, soared 10 percent. Nintendo Co., maker of the Wii game machine, sank 4.7 percent in Osaka as Deutsche Bank AG said the company’s profit will decline from next fiscal year.The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 23.04, or 0.3 percent, to close at 7,972.17 in Tokyo. The Topix index rose 4.03, or 0.5 percent, to 764.67. Both gauges climbed a fourth-straight day, the longest streak since a seven-day run ending Jan. 07. The Bank of Japan today said it will buy 1.8 trillion yen ($18.3 billion) of government bonds each month, up from 1.4 trillion yen now to add money to the financial system. The central bank yesterday outlined plans to provide as much as 1 trillion yen of subordinated loans to banks to revive lending and replenish capital sapped by falling stocks.

(Dow Jones)--Gains on Wall Street overnight and continued strength in banking giant HSBC powered Hong Kong shares higher Wednesday, but utility companies fell as investors favored more speculative trading. China Huiyuan Juice tumbled 19% to HK$8.30, off an intraday low of HK$7.95 before it was halted from trading after the Financial Times reported Coca-Cola may abandon its $2.4 billion takeover of the mainland beverage maker. China's Ministry of Commerce said later Wednesday it had rejected Coca-Cola's proposal to acquire the juice maker, saying the deal would restrict competition. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 239.08 points, or 1.86%, to 13,117.17 after trading between 13,020.80 and 13,167.20. Turnover was low at HK$37.5 billion, down from HK$49 billion Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.5% overnight to 7,395.70 on unexpected strength in the U.S. housing market, while the Nasdaq jumped 4.1% to 1,462.11. Traders said they expect the Hang Seng Index to track Wall Street's uptrend in the short term, though they don't anticipate any key positive economic data. 'There's no convincing evidence the real economy has bottomed, but the short-term index target is hard to tip as it is driven by liquidity,' said Y.K. Chan, a portfolio manager at Phillip Asset Management. HSBC rose for the seventh straight session, tracking gains in global banking stocks. It surged 5.8% to HK$42.70. 'Sentiment has improved and I expect more buying interest in banking stocks and China plays,' said Francis Lun, general manager at Fulbright Securities. China Mobile also bolstered the benchmark index, rising 1.5% to HK$68.10 on the prospect of a strong set of 2008 results as it continues to add mobile subscribers. The company, the world's biggest telecommunications operator by subscribers, is expected to report Thursday its net profit last year rose 32% to CNY115.07 billion, according to the average forecast of nine analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.