Asian markets end mostly higher Thursday, with Japan's benchmark index gaining as bargain hunters snap up banks and technology stocks after recent declines.
Shares of Japanâ??s Kirin Holdings Co. extend gains on hopes the companyâ??s possible merger with Suntory Holdings could create a Japanese beverage giant.
Asian equity markets suffered heavy losses Monday as nervous investors braced for a slew of big U.S. earnings reports in the coming week, though merger-and-acquisition related news boosted shares of China Eastern Airlines and Kirin Holdings.
Most Asian markets ended lower Monday with tourism and airline stocks hit hard as an outbreak of a new strain of swine flu in the U.S. and Mexico injected some caution into markets, but pharmaceutical and health-care stocks rose.
Japanese banking and brokerage stocks jump, even as the broad market retreats amid concerns over the swine flu pandemic, with shares of Shinsei Bank, Auzora Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group spurred higher by hopes for industry consolidation.
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