ASIA STOCKS closed mixed

Japanese stocks shot higher in a day of mixed trade in Asia on Tuesday, while investors were digesting a flurry of earnings reports in Australia.

The Nikkei rose by 2.9%, extending earlier gains after the Bank of Japan said it would double incentives designed to increase bank lending — an attempt to increase the effect of monetary stimulus measures that the country is using to battle inflation. The central bank left its main policy program unchanged. The market was supported by a weaker yen, which fell after the Bank of Japan announcement.

Among exporters, stock in Canon Inc. rose 1.6%, Mazda Motor Corp. tacked on 1.5%, and Sony Corp. gained 1.4%. 

Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. were each up by 1.7%.

In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was flat and the Shanghai Composite was 0.5% lower.

Banks retreated, as China Merchants Bank Co., declined 2.2%, Bank of Communications Co. fell 1.6%, China Minsheng Banking Corp. lost 1.4%, and China Citic Bank Corporation dropped 1.2%. 

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.3%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index was less than 0.1% higher.

BHP Billiton Ltd. rising 1.7% after its July-December profit almost doubled from a year earlier, beating forecasts. However, smaller rival Arrium Ltd. added 2.5% after reporting a swing back to profit. Other miners got a bump up from rising commodity prices, as Newcrest Mining Ltd. gained 2.3% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. added 1.2%, though Oz Minerals Ltd. slipped 0.4%. 

Shares of Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. slumped 5.1% after the drinks firm saw a more than 80% drop in 2013 profit.

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