Autos drive Japan to higher close
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Honda led the auto sector with a 4 percent gain Thursday.
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(CNN) -- Asian markets closed mainly higher Thursday, with solid gains for Japanese automakers Honda and Toyota after the Dow rose on Wall Street.
But South Korea posted a small loss.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 average finished up 1.0 percent to 10,429.99, following its decline of 0.8 percent on Wednesday.
The broader Topix index was up 0.46 percent at 1020.70.
There were also gains of 0.45 percent for Australia and 0.6 percent for Taiwan. New Zealand put on about 0.2 percent. Hong Kong slipped 0.15 percent and Singapore ended down 0.31 percent.
In Tokyo, Honda finished 4.1 percent ahead to 4550 yen and Toyota ended 2 percent higher to 3450 yen. Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi Motors also closed higher on improved sentiment.
Tech related stocks also firmed, with a gain of 2.7 percent for Toshiba to 420 yen, 1.95 percent for Hitachi and 1.6 percent for Kyocera.
Canon was among the best performers, up 2.6 percent to 5180 yen after a report it would team up with Toshiba in a joint venture to produce flat panel TV screens.
Consumer electronics leader Sony slipped 0.27 percent to 3710 yen and NEC also closed in the red. Telcos were up, with gains of 1.25 percent for NTT DoCoMo and 2.35 percent for rival KDDI.
Big banks were mainly higher after a day of choppy trade. Mizuho put on 0.7 percent to 289,000 yen and UFJ rose 1 percent to 496,000 yen. SMFG was steady and MTFG rose 0.9 percent to 815,000 yen.
Consumer lending company Takefuji, which plunged 11 percent Wednesday after the arrest of its founder Yasuo Takei, lost another 4.8 percent to 5200 yen. (Full story)
A new survey showed Japanese corporate sentiment on the rise in recent months, raising hopes for a sustained recovery in the world's second-largest economy. (Full story)
The dollar traded at 108.10 yen late in the day in Tokyo. The Australian dollar hit a fresh six-year high of 73.7 U.S. cents.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 closed 0.45 percent higher to 3229.8, with a gain of 2.6 percent to A$30.13 for leading bank NAB on optimism about the economy. Airline Qantas was up 0.3 percent to A$3.42 and BHP Billiton rose 0.26 percent to A$11.63.
But other blue chips News Corp. and Telstra ended slightly in the red.
In South Korea, the Kospi finished 0.4 percent lower to 805.13. Samsung Electronics, the market's biggest stock, dropped 2.1 percent to 461,000 won and leading exporter Hyundai Motor fell 2.2 percent to 46,800 won.
Big bank Shinhan jumped 3.1 percent ahead to 17,900 won.
In Taiwan, the Taiex closed 0.6 percent higher to 5920.46, lifted by gains of 1.9 percent for Formosa Plastics and 1.3 percent for UMC. Market heavyweight TSMC put on 0.75 percent to T$67.00.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index closed 0.31 percent lower to 1,732.01. Shares in DBS fell 2.72 percent to S$14.30, ending four straight days of gains.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, which hit a 28-month high earlier in the week, ended down 0.15 percent to 12,342.65. HSBC was steady at HK$118.50, while China Mobile lost 0.4 percent. Hutchison Whampoa was down 2 percent.
New Zealand's Top 50 closed 0.19 percent ahead to 2366.56 after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand elected to leave rates on hold. (First story)
The market's biggest stock, Telecom, was up slightly to NZ$5.13.
On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose above 2000 for the first time in two years Wednesday, before closing 1 percent lower at 1960.25. The Dow put on 0.2 percent to 9873.42.(Full story)
