2014.03.1108:36:31UTC+00Asian shares hike; Nikkei relinquish advances on BOJ

Asian stocks rallied higher on Tuesday trading action, as markets rebounded from a punishing session on Monday, while Japanese stocks relinquished most of their early increases after the Bank of Japan stood pat on financial policy.

Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.1%, after surging as much as 0.9% earlier in the day, after the country’s central bank made its policy declaration. The dollar also surrendered some ground versus the yen, with the greenback last at ¥103.27, compared with the day’s high of ¥103.43, and steady with its level in New York late on Monday.

Although there are less expectations for a policy alteration, investors had been looking for indications on whether the central bank is preparing to expand its stimulus measures later in the year in light of the coming hike in the sales tax.

More broadly, the region was making a mild recovery after weaker-than-assumed export data from China led to a selloff across the board, with the benchmark index in Shanghai declining the most since June. The heavy merchandising on Monday in Asia didn’t turn into a global rout, with Wall Street recording only mild losses overnight, giving markets some space to recover.

The Shanghai Composite picked up slightly, last up 0.3%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index bolstered by 0.2%.

Some huge Chinese banks finished in a higher note in Hong Kong, as data showed that China’s total credit growth slowed steeply in February. The weaker credit growth came after regulators warned that too much development could threaten the health of the financial system. China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China both increased 0.6%.

In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 0.1% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 recorded a 0.3% increase. In Southeast Asia, Singapore’s Straits Times Index rallied by 0.4% and the Philippines PSE leaped 0.5%.

Exchange in Sydney was recovering from weakness earlier in the session brought about by news that Australian business status had fallen steeply in February. The National Australia Bank’s survey said that business conditions, which includes inputs such as labor and buying costs, as well as trading conditions, dropped to zero in February from a plus 5 score in January.

Miners stayed in focus in Sydney, after a steep decline in the price of iron, which shot 8.3% lower on Monday to its weakest markl since October 2012. The large miners, however, gained after sharp losses in the previous session: Rio Tinto added 1% and BHP Billiton was 0.2% greater, after giving up 5.8% and 4.1%, respectively, on Monday.