Bulk of Asian Markets Trade Higher Ahead of China Reforms Blueprint

Asian markets outside Hong Kong and India traded higher on 12 November, ahead of the release of a reforms blueprint in China and amid the uncertainty surrounding the future pace of US monetary stimulus.

The Japanese Nikkei finished 2.23% higher or 318.84 points at 14,588.68.

Australia's S&P/ASX finished 0.11% higher or 6.00 points at 5,393.10.

South Korea's Kospi finished 0.92% higher or 18.18 points at 1,995.48.

The Shanghai Composite finished 0.82% higher or 17.30 points at 2,126.77.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was trading 0.67% lower or 153.78 points to 22,906.13.

India's BSE Sensex was trading 0.23% lower or 47.74 points to 20,443.22.

The Philippines PSEi finished 0.94% higher or 58.94 points at 6,324.17.

Market players hope that China's new leaders will put out a reforms plan that can transform the world's second largest economy.

The ongoing four-day closed-door meeting of senior Communist Party officials will end on 12 November. The official Xinhua news agency is expected to make public the nation's economic agenda for the next decade later in the day.

Meanwhile, Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher's comment failed to impact regional investor sentiment. Fisher told CNBC that that the US Fed "will have to taper back on [the] pace of [its asset] purchases but that doesn't mean [the central bank would] stop".

Elsewhere, in the Philippines, tropical cyclone Zoraida struck the landmass, still reeling under the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. The UK and the US are sending warships to the Philippines to boost rescue operations.

Earlier, In Australia, sentiment was dampened after a National Australia Bank survey revealed that business confidence had dropped from October's three-and-a-half year high.

Daiwa Securities said in a note to clients: "Persistent speculation over when the US Fed may start winding down its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying programme is likely to remain a key driver of the market."

Tim Radford, global analyst at Rivkin Securities said in a note to clients: "Global investors will closely watch newly elected US Fed chairman Janet Yellen when she faces her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Banking Committee on [ 14 November]. Depending on what she says, the hearing could provide market participants with some real insights into what to expect from the new Fed chair next year when she takes over from Ben Bernanke, particularly her stance on current highly accommodative Fed policies".

"While the hearing could be a non-event, any signs of hawkishness on her part will be negative for markets, dragging stocks and commodities lower, and seeing further strength in the US dollar and bond yields", Radford added.

Wall Street Up

On Wall Street, indices logged modest gains on 11 November, ahead of the release of earnings reports from retailers including Wal-Mart and Macy's.

The Dow finished 21.32 points higher or 0.14% at 15,783.10, a third record close for the benchmark index this month.

The S&P 500 closed 1.28 points higher or 0.07% at 1,771.88.

The Nasdaq ended 0.56 points higher or 0.01% at 3,919.79.

The CBOE Volatility Index, considered the broadest gauge of fear in the market, declined to 12.53.

"Corporate earnings have been strong, and the view is that the Fed is on hold for the foreseeable future, so the focus turns to the holiday season, and the strength of the US consumer," said Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management.

Results from retailers are likely to be "okay, and reflective of an economy where it needs to be," Skrainka told CNBC.

Company Stock Movements

In Tokyo, exporters' stocks gained on the back of a weaker yen. PlayStation maker Sony shot up 3.6%

Advertising firm Dentsu gained 3.1% after it revised its group net profit forecast for the 2013 financial year by 73% to ¥33.1bn yen, from ¥19.1bn yen, on the back of strong domestic advertising sales.

In Shanghai, Hua Xia Bank and Shanghai Pudong bank added over 1% each.

In Hong Kong, Huishang Bank rose 0.9% in its trading debut after raising $1.2bn through a public offering earlier in the month.

In Mumbai, automaker Maruti Suzuki gained 1.2% while rival Tata Motors dropped 2.3% after Japanese brokerage firm Nomura downgraded the latter's stock.

In Sydney, fertiliser maker Incitec Pivot rallied over 7% despite reporting an 18% drop in full-year net profit. The result beat analyst forecasts.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp lost over 3%, nearly mirroring the 4% fall in the company's US-listed shares, after the firm reported a decline in revenue pulled down by lower ad revenue.

Analysts expected the media company's revenue to rise to $2.18bn in the first fiscal quarter of 2014. However, the firm reported a 3% year-on-year decline in first-quarter revenue to $2.07bn.

Ten Network dropped over 5% on reports that its billionaire shareholders, James Packer, Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon would split A$20m in fees to secure the network's new A$200m debt facility.

In Seoul, LG Display moved up some 4% while index heavyweight Samsung Electronics gained 2%.