KDDI Corporation

Asian shares declined in thin trade on Monday. Tokyo stocks fell on the pre-weekend fall on Wall Street and monetary tightening in China, despite a slightly better than expected gross domestic product figure in fourth quarter was released yesterday. Australian stocks Monday was also lower, weighed down by some disappointing earnings reports. There is no lead from Wall Street and major Asian markets including Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are still in holiday break on Tuesday.

Asian shares were lifted on Tuesday after strong U.S. manufacturing data. Japan's Nikkei index ended 1.63 percent higher, after Toyota's plans to fix millions of vehicles equipped with faulty accelerators in North America and Europe. Australian shares climbed as metals prices rose, but Australian dollar was pulled down by RBA's unexpected decision to keep interest rate unchanged.

Asian stocks mostly Friday moved higher at opening after the strong economic figures from the US boosted investor confidence. Today the focus will be on a series of economic data of China. The nation's key official figures on industrial production, CPI, and retail sales are due out later in the day.

Asian markets opened broadly lower on Tuesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped with a massive 4.4 per cent fall in early trading, while Tokyo stocks were also under pressure, weighed by the tumble on Wall Street and stronger Yen.

Most Asian share markets soared at opening bell following the upbeat sentiment on Wall Street overnight. Japan's Nikkei average and South Korea's Kospi opened higher this morning, but soon gave up their early gains. Tokyo stocks slid to below 8000 points level, as exporters were hurt by stronger yen.