Pedestrians walk past a share prices board in Tokyo yesterday. Japan’s share prices rose 307.08 points to close at 16,121.45 points at the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

AFP/Mumbai


Asian markets ended mixed yesterday, but Tokyo surged in response to a weaker yen and a Wall Street rally sparked by stronger US economic data.
Investors are also awaiting the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting to see if another cut in its stimulus could be on the cards, while closely watched jobs figures are due later in the week.
Tokyo rallied 1.94%, or 307.08 points, to 16,121.45 and Hong Kong jumped 1.25%, or 283.81 points, to 22,996.59.
Sydney was flat, edging down 1.0 point to end at 5,316.0. Seoul was also almost unchanged, dipping just 0.48 points to close at 1,958.96.
Shanghai lost 0.15%, or 2.98 points, to 2,044.34.
Taipei rose 0.51%, or 43.71 points, to 8,556.01; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co added 1.96% to Tw$104.0 while Hon Hai Precision was 0.63% higher at Tw$79.5. Wellington added 0.42%, or 20.18 points, to 4,779.80.
Manila closed 0.66% higher, adding 39.04 points to 5,986.48; BDO Unibank rose 0.97% to 72.55 pesos, Philippine Long Distance Telephone added 1.52% to 2,668 pesos and SM Prime Holdings gained 1.94% to 14.68 pesos.
Jakarta closed higher 0.59%, or 24.79 points, at 4,200.59; Palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari rose 6.05% to 22,800 rupiah, while Indofood Sukses Makmur gained 1.13% to 6,700 rupiah.
Singapore closed up 0.95%, or 29.77 points, at 3,150.65; Singapore Telecom rose 0.28% to Sg$3.55 while DBS Bank gained 1.94% to Sg$17.37. Kuala Lumpur’s main index added 6.19 points, or 0.34%, to 1,831.30; Tenaga Nasional leapt 6.1% to 11.80 ringgit while British American Tobacco ended 1.3% higher at 62.92.
Malayan Banking shed 1.5% to 9.81 ringgit. Bangkok fell 0.37% or 4.63 points to 1,257.73; Airports of Thailand dropped 4.29% to 145 baht, while telecoms company True Corp fell 4.23% to 6.80 baht.
After a tentative start to 2014 - caused by profit-taking following healthy gains last year—US shares enjoyed a rally on Tuesday after the Commerce Department said the trade deficit shrank in November as exports hit a record high for a second straight month.
The deficit narrowed 12.9% from October, the second month in a row of contraction, to $34.3bn, the smallest figure since September 2009.
The upbeat numbers added to growing optimism about the world’s number one economy and could tilt the Fed to consider further reducing its stimulus programme.
The central bank said at its last meeting that from January it would cut its bond-buying by $10bn a month to $75bn. Minutes for that gathering are due for release later yesterday and could give clues about its future intentions.
The data “further supports the view that the outlook for the US economy is improving”, St. George Bank economist Janu Chan told Dow Jones Newswires.
On Wall Street the Dow rose 0.64%, the S&P 500 gained 0.61% and the Nasdaq climbed 0.96%.
The dollar extended its gains yesterday after enjoying a pick-up in New York following the trade figures.
It bought 105.05 yen in late afternoon compared with 104.69 yen in New York late Tuesday, although it is still well below the five-year high of 105.41 yen touched at the start of last week.
The euro was at $1.3619 and 143.07 yen, from $1.3614 and 142.53 yen.
Oil prices were higher. New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for February delivery, was up 45 cents at $94.12 in mid-morning trade.
Brent North Sea crude for February rose 31 cents to $107.66. Gold fetched $1,225.50 at 1120 compared with $1,239late Tuesday.