Japan shares edge up, but Australia down

♦ June 15, 2011 ♦ Leave Your Comment

Japan shares edge up, but Australia down

By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch

Last Update: 9:11 PM ET Jun 13, 2011

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) ? Japanese shares advanced modestly on Tuesday amid gains for utility firms and exporters, while miners weighed on the Australian market ahead of some key economic data from China.

Japan?s Nikkei Stock Average ?rose 0.1%, while South Korea?s Kospi ?advanced 0.2%. Australia?s S&P/ASX 200 index ?declined 0.7%.

Airlines were weak in Australia, with Qantas Airways Ltd. ? ?down 1.1% and Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. ??down 3.3% as an ash cloud disrupted flights in some areas of the country. Read more on ash cloud.

Miners also lost ground in Australia, with BHP Billiton Ltd. ? ?falling 1.3%, Rio Tinto Ltd. ? ?dropping 1.1%, and Newcrest Mining Ltd. ??down 1.2%.

Commodities sagged on Monday, with both oil and gold futures trading with losses in New York, as investors worried over the global economic recovery. Read more on Monday’s oil moves.

Chinese inflation data due out Tuesday may give investors some clues about likely economic trends. Consumer inflation was 5.3% in April. Read about expectations for China consumer inflation.

Meanwhile, the Japanese share market gained support from utility companies, with Tokyo Electric Power Co. ? ?shares up 6.5% after reports that Japan?s cabinet had approved a nuclear compensation bill. The Tepco-operated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in March, releasing large amounts of radiation.

Other utility firms on the move included Kansai Electric Power Co. , up 0.3%, and Chubu Electric Power Co. ?, up 3.1%.

Exporters were also gaining some ground, with TDK Corp. ??shares up 2.1%, and Canon Inc ?, ?shares up 0.9%, as the dollar edged higher against the yen.

The dollar ?bought ?80.20 on Tuesday morning, flat from its level in late Monday trade in North America.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/menafn/GLPopEN/~3/nkIxyW8nf8U/qn_news_story.asp

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