SAJJAD PURVEZ - Apple and gold spur Asia stocks, currencies

SAJJAD PURVEZ: HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Most Asian markets ended higher Thursday, with the South Korean stock benchmark racing to a record as technology stocks were cheered by Apple Inc.’s results and as commodity producers rose on a rally in crude-oil and gold prices.

Investor sentiment remained positive after solid overnight gains on Wall Street, and was also reflected in the foreign-exchange market as riskier currencies pushed higher against the U.S. dollar. The Australian dollar sparkled, in particular, climbing to a fresh post-float high against the greenback.

Asia Today: Apple Results Soar, Unhurt by Japan

Apple's earnings rose sharply thanks to strong iPhone sales, and the company downplayed concerns about Japan's impact on its supplies, its recent lawsuit against Samsung and CEO Steve Jobs's medical leave. WSJ's Jake Lee and Andrew LaVallee discuss.

“Great earnings numbers from both Apple and Intel this week are giving investors confidence that the U.S. economy is trending up, and for now it’s offsetting concerns over debt issues in Europe and nuclear worries,” said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of the equity division at Nikko Cordial Securities.

Japan’s Nikkei Stock AverageJP:NI225 +1.20%  gained 0.8% to 9,685.77.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 AU:XJO +1.13% added 1.1% to 4,913.80 and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.3% to 2,198.54.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HK:HANGSENG +1.01%  climbed 1% to 24,138.31, China’s Shanghai Composite CN:SHCOMP +0.65%  edged up 0.7% to 3,026.67, and Taiwan’s main index rose 1.6% to 8,957.65.

Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +1.52%  futures were up 56 points in screen trade.

Several technology-related stocks extended gains in Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei.

In Tokyo, Apple-linked stocks were mostly higher, with chip makers Toshiba Corp.TOSYY +4.49%   JP:6502 +2.16%  rising 1.9% and Elpida Memory Inc. JP:6665 +3.60%  ELPDF 0.00%  climbing 3.6%.

Softbank Corp. JP:9984 -0.44% SFTBF +3.07% , the exclusive provider of Apple products in Japan, fell 0.4% after climbing 3.9% Wednesday in anticipation of strong earnings from Apple AAPL +1.35%  .

Takuya Yamada, senior portfolio manager at ITC Investment Partners, said Japan’s market would likely be capped by caution and volumes will remain weak ahead of a slew of Japanese corporate results next week. He added that earnings from U.S. chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices AMD +4.35%  will be closely watched later Thursday.

Chip foundries and iPhone parts suppliers and assemblers rose in Taiwan despite a more subdued earnings outlook for the local firms. J.P. Morgan strategist Nick Lai said that first-quarter earnings from Taiwan tech firms, most of which are due next week, are likely to disappoint due to the supply-chain impact stemming from the March 11 earthquake in Japan.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.TSM +4.10%  advanced 1.3% and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. added 1.4%.

In Seoul, the Kospi hit a record as heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co.SSNLF +78.57%  added 1.3% and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. HXSCF 0.00%  surged 7.9%