Most Asian markets advanced Tuesday, with indexes in India, China and South Korea rising to new records. Gainers included India's Reliance Energy Ltd. and China Shenhua Energy Co., which debuted on the Shanghai exchange, reported ap. India's benchmark Senex index surged 789 points _ the most in a single day _ or 4.5 percent, to close at 18,280 points. Stocks of energy and telecommunication companies led the gains, driven by demand from foreign funds. «Growth remains strong in India. While emerging markets overall are doing well, India and China have outperformed the rest,» said Jayant Pai, assistant vice president for institutional equity sales at IL&FS. «Foreign funds have no option but to get into emerging markets.» In mainland China, shares in selected sectors such as banks and winemakers offset selling of gold and coal miners. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4 percent, or 23.13 points, to 5,715.89 in heavy trading. The Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second, smaller exchange rose 0.6 percent to 1,551.19. Investors shifted funds to China Shenhua Energy Co., whose shares soared 87 percent in their Shanghai trading debut to close at 69.30 yuan (US$9.21; ¤6.54), after an initial public offering that raised 66.6 billion yuan (US$8.9 billion; ¤6.3 billion) _ a record for a mainland bourse. Winemakers were a big favorite Tuesday following strong ratings from investment houses on expectations that the industry will benefit from rising demand among China's growing middle class. Sichuan Swellfun Co. hit the 10 percent upside limit at 22.76 yuan, while Kweichow Moutai Co. gained 7.9 percent to 158.76 yuan. Those gains offset profit-taking in expensive gold and coal miners. Zhongjin Gold Co. dropped 4.3 percent to 131.00 yuan, while Shanxi Xishang Coal and Electricity Power Co. fell 6.5 percent to 67.78 yuan. «Today, stocks more or less rose and fell by the sector, indicating that investors bought a different sector after selling shares in another,» said Zhou Lin, an analyst at Huatai Securities. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 457.75 points, or 1.7 percent, to 28,228.04. But traders said they expect trading to remain choppy in the near term ahead of the Chinese Communist Party Congress, which begins Monday. «Though valuations in the local market aren't cheap, upward momentum will likely continue, as liquidity will be assured by a sustained inflow of funds from the mainland,» said Marco Mak, research head at Tai Fook Securities. In Tokyo, stocks rose modestly, led by exporters like Honda Motor, as investors took heart from recent positive signs about the U.S. economy, a key market for Japanese companies. The Nikkei 225 index rose 94.86 points, or 0.56 percent, to 17,159.90 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Japanese financial markets were closed Monday for a national holiday. Investor confidence seemed to be regaining strength following August's plunge in global markets triggered by woes in the U.S. subprime mortgage market. «Clearly its good to see that the U.S. economy is actually in solid shape and that is helping stocks here,» said Mitsuhiro Yuasa, senior portfolio manager of Rheos Capital Works. With first-half earnings season about to get into full-swing, Japanese stocks could receive a new boost if companies show solid profit growth. Honda Motor Co. gained 1 percent to 4,020 yen and Sharp Corp. added 0.5 percent to 2,055 yen. In Tokyo currencies, the U.S. dollar was trading at 117.20 yen midday, down from 117.36 yen late Monday in New York. The euro fell to US$1.4020 from US$1.4047.
