Asian shares mostly advance

Asia’s share markets mostly rose on Wednesday following a slight rebound on Wall Street but Tokyo took another hit as the yen rallied after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) said it would not extend its stimulus in the near future. Tokyo fell 1.82 per cent by the break but Hong Kong rose 1.37 per cent, Sydney gained 1.00 per cent, Shanghai added 0.23 per cent and Seoul was up 0.15 per cent. In Japan, the Nikkei sank for a fourth straight session as the yen strengthened after central bank chief Haruhiko Kuroda dismissed any hopes of further monetary easing soon. That sent the yen higher on Tuesday, sitting at 101.75 to the dollar late in New York, compared with 102.56 earlier in the day in Tokyo. On Wednesday in Asia the dollar was at 101.87 yen. In Sydney, department store operator David Jones surged 23 per cent as it said it intends to recommend a buyout from South Africa’s Woolworths that values the Australian firm at Aus$2.15 billion (US$2.01 billion). The offer of Aus$4 a share is a 25 per cent premium to its closing price on Tuesday, according to AFP.