LONDON (CNNfn) - Asian stock markets moved broadly higher Wednesday with Tokyo posting narrow gains and Singapore closing at a record high, but Hong Kong suffered a sharp correction as investors bailed out of blue chips.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo ended 27 points or 0.14 percent ahead at 18,810.58 after trading in a narrow 100-point range where technology shares just outweighed weak banking stocks.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong broke into record territory in the morning session and then slumped more than 2 percent at one point. The index ended 1.6 percent lower at 16,660.82.
The Straits Times index in Singapore held on to its morning gains and closed up 1.05 percent at 2,472.69 as firm financial shares lifted it back into record territory.
Asian markets gained some confidence from a strong performance on Wall Street where the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.85 percent to close at a record 1,476.71. The S&P 500 climbed marginally to close at 1,457.66 while the Nasdaq slipped back to end at 3,972.11.
In the currency markets, the dollar was trading around its New York closing level of 102.25 against the Japanese yen. The euro remained around $1.01.
In Tokyo, Sony Corp. continued to advance after Monday’s share split, gaining 7.6 percent, and the increased liquidity helped boost interest in other technology shares. Fujitsu rose 3.4 percent and NEC closed 3.3 percent higher while Internet investment firm Softbank advanced 5.7 percent.
However, financial shares all fell, with Industrial Bank of Japan off 4.5 percent, Sakura Bank down 4.2 percent and Fuji Bank closing 3.1 percent lower.
The Hang Seng boasted just two gainers at the close despite posting an intra-day record of 17,138 early in the session.
Investors reversed course, pulling recent strong performers such as Citic Pacific and SmarTone down: their shares lost 3.2 and 2.9 percent lower respectively. Among the heavyweights, HSBC fell 0.8 percent, C&W HKT lost 2.8 percent and Cheung Kong (Holdings) shed 1.8 percent.
New World Development was the weakest of the property shares, off 3.9 4 percent.
Banks pulled Singapore higher, with Overseas Union Bank leading the pack with a 6 percent advance while United Overseas Bank climbed 0.7 percent.
Datacraft rebounded from weakness among tech stocks in the previous session. The circuit-board manufacturer rose more than 3 percent.
Among the smaller markets, the Set index in Bangkok closed 1.8 percent higher at 475.52 as local investors piled into bank stocks.
The All Ordinaries in Sydney ended 0.18 percent higher at 3,141.10 while the PHS Composite in Manila closed up 1.16 percent at 2,142.97.
Taiwan’s Weighted index closed 0.4 percent higher at 8,448.84 and the KLSE Composite in Kuala Lumpur climbed 0.88 percent to end at 804.74. The JSX in Jakarta lost 0.35 percent to end at 674.88. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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