ASIA STOCKS added on Wednesday (26.06.2013)

Asian stocks rose for the first time in three days after better-than-estimated U.S. data bolstered the outlook for the world’s largest economy and concern over China’s cash crunch eased.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.7% to 125.91.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.6% and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index increased 1.8%. Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.4%. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PCOMP) jumped 5.7%, heading for its biggest advance since November 2008.

Taiwan’s Taiex index rose 1.6% after lawmakers voted to roll back provisions of capital gains tax on stock sales of more than NT$1 billion ($33 million). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.4%. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies, also known as the H-share index, gained 2.2%.

Japan’s Topix index fell 0.9% and the benchmark Nikkei 255 Stock Average dropped 1%. Shares erased earlier gains as the Japanese yen reversed losses. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.2%.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.8% as concern about the impact of a cash crunch on the broader economy lingered even after the central bank pledged to ensure stability in the money markets.

James Hardie Industries SE (JHX), a supplier of building materials that gets about 70% of sales from the U.S., climbed 4.6%in Sydney. 

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s biggest lender, jumped 4.6% in Hong Kong after the nation’s central bank injected liquidity to stabilize money-market rates. 

Woori Finance Holdings Co. gained 5.4% in Seoul after the government announced plans to separate the nation’s largest financial group by assets into three parts.

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