Australian, Japanese Shares Open Higher, Defying Losses in US

(NewsCore) - SYDNEY -- Japanese and Australian shares made a strong start Tuesday, defying overnight losses in the US.

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5 percent to 4,246.50, while in Tokyo the Nikkei Average opened 0.6 percent up at 8,815.36.

Resource-tied firms in Australia benefited from overnight gains in commodity prices. Major miner BHP Billiton Ltd. rose 0.4 percent and Rio Tinto Ltd. put on 0.7 percent. Newcrest Mining Ltd. added two percent after gold futures hit a six-week high in New York trading and Oil Search Ltd. climbed 2.6 percent after the firm said it forecasts steady production during 2012.

Some Japan-listed tech firms outpaced the broader market after Texas Instruments Inc. reported better-than-expected revenues in the US. Kyocera Corp. rose 1.1 percent and Tokyo Electron Ltd. added 0.9 percent, while chip maker Elpida Memory Inc. jumped 5.1 percent after the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that it was set to strike an alliance with US peer Micron Technology Inc. and Taiwan's Nanya Technology Corp.

Among other movers, shares of Sharp Corp. fell 1.2 percent after an NHK report that it plans to enter the solar-power market, while Toyota Motor Corp. was up 2.6 percent after a late Monday announcement it would cut 350 jobs in Australia.

Earlier, US stocks slipped Monday -- though the S&P 500 eked out its fifth day of gains -- as negotiations between Greece and its creditors gave investors an excuse to take profits after a double-digit advance from October lows.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.1 percent, breaking four days of gains. It had risen as much as 44 points to 12,764.49, its highest intraday since May 10, and fallen as much as 55 points.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.1 percent, while the S&P 500 reclaimed gains in the last hour of trading, closing up 0.1 percent at 1,316 -- its highest close since July 26.