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Japanese shares trade higher after holiday break Japanese shares trade higher after holiday break
(about 7 hours later)
Japanese shares rose on Tuesday amid gains on other Asian markets, with only Shanghai bucking the trend. Japan's Nikkei rose after the long weekend, with Toshiba shares up despite the firm announcing it had inflated profits by $1.2bn over six years.
The Nikkei 225 was up by 0.5% at 20,749 points as trading in Tokyo resumed after a long weekend. The Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.9% at 20,841.97, with Toshiba 6% higher.
Attention focused on Toshiba after it said on Monday that a probe had found profits were massively overstated for years. Toshiba's shares rose because investors welcomed the report because it ended months of uncertainty over the accounting issue.
Nevertheless, investors appeared to have a positive outlook on the company as shares rose by 2.7%. However, Toshiba's shares are still down by about a quarter since the problems first emerged in April.
In a statement to investors, Toshiba said its operating profits had been inflated by 151.8bn yen ($1.22bn, £780m). The company said on Tuesday that chief executive and president Hisao Tanaka was to step down.
The improper accounting practices dated back to 2008 and the probe could lead to a restatement of profits, an overhaul of the board, or potential action by regulators. On the wider market, Japanese investors were able to take some positives from the minutes of the Bank of Japan's last meeting.
Toshiba said a full report into the accounting scandal will be released later on Tuesday. The notes show most central bank's board members were optimistic about the inflation trend continuing, though there was some doubt over the effectiveness of the central bank's stimulus efforts.
Inflation optimism Won weakness
Japanese investors were also able to take some positive impulse from the minutes of the Bank of Japan's last meeting. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's benchmark Kospi was up 0.4% to 2,081.54 despite remarks from the country's finance minister that the second quarter gross domestic product would be "much lower" than in the previous three months.
The notes show most central bank's board members were optimistic about the inflation trend continuing, confirming the central bank's stimulus efforts. Quoted by the Reuters news agency, Choi Kyung-hwan cited the global economic slowdown and lower oil prices as reasons.
Meanwhile, South Korea's benchmark Kospi index was trading 0.5% higher at 2,082.96. However, export-oriented stocks were boosted by the continuing weakness of the won against the dollar, with the won sliding to a two-year low against the US currency.
In Australia, the continued slump in commodity prices weighed on investor confidence and the ASX 200 index was flat at 5,694.70 points. Carmaker Hyundai Motors jumped by 7.3% while Kia was up almost 2.9%.
After falling to a five-year low on Monday, gold prices firmed up slightly though, with the precious metal edging up 0.2% to $1,099.05 an ounce. In Australia, the ASX 200 index ended up 0.4% at 5,706.70.
In China, investors were less upbeat with the Shanghai Composite opening down 1% at 3,953 points, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat at 25,413 points. But the continued slump in commodity prices weighed on investor confidence when it came to the country's mining giants.
Rio Tinto fell by 0.9% while BHP Billiton fell 0.4% and Newcrest dropped 1.6%.
In China, government rescue measures appear to have restored some stability to trading in the past week.
The Shanghai Composite closed up 0.6% at 4,017.67 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.5% to 25,536.43.