Wednesday's Asia ADR Recap

Update from 5:53 p.m. EDT

Indian stocks broke a six-day winning streak Wednesday as investors in the Far East sold off financial and capital goods stocks. Dealers said market players locked in profits and cleared their position books ahead of the monthly expiration of futures contracts, which ends on the last Thursday of every month.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-stock Sensex Index fell 86 points, or 0.5%, to 16,698 points.

Indian communications provider Tata Communications (TCL Quote) announced it has launched a suite of security services designed to protect applications, IT systems and networks that power its customers' business infrastructures. The cost-effective security solutions will focus on premise and managed services along with professional services, which will enable Tata Communications to provide its customers with security solutions on a global scale. American depositary shares of Tata Communications traded up 1.4% to $23.

India's largest private sector lender Icici Bank (IBN Quote) said it will not give out promotions or pay large bonus payouts to employees this year, according to the financialexpress.com. The bank said the decision had nothing to do with subprime issues, but had more to do with a slowing global economy. "We are reading the economy and the mood is obviously not as bullish as a year or two ago. So, we have decided to be cost-prudent by holding back the annual promotions and scaling down the bonuses for this year," said head of human resources K Ram Kumar. Shares of Icici dropped 1.1% to $43.

Leading the gainers list among Indian ADRs Wednesday were, Wipro Limited (WIT Quote), which rose 3.8% to $12.27; Patni Computer Systems (PTI Quote), which added 3.1% to $12.94; Tata Motors (TTM Quote), which traded up 2.6% to $16.03; and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (RDY Quote), which finished 2.4% higher at $15.68.

Be sure to check out the Far East Portfolio at Stockpickr.com every night to find out which stocks in India and China are making big moves and announcing major news.

China Recap

Asian stocks surged higher Wednesday after the Ministry of Finance announced it will slash the tax stamp from 0.3% to 0.1%. Analysts in the region said short-covering propelled stocks higher as market players anticipate more government measures to boost stock prices. Speculation also made the rounds that China's central bank will cut rates at its next policy meeting.

"Overall market sentiment remains positive. By the end of this month, the Fed will do another rate cut and that will support the market," said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KGI Securities Asia.

The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 130 points, or 4.2%, to 3,278, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 350 points, or 1.4%, to 25,289.

According to a report from hexun.com, Chinese Internet search leader Baidu.com (BIDU Quote) has entered into a partnership with Japan's Waseda University to develop Internet search technologies. Baidu will team up with Waseda to develop Web resources that analyze the Japanese market. American depositary shares of Baidu finished essentially flat at $349.66.

Chinese railway passenger and freight transportation company Guangshen Railway (GSH Quote) announced its audited and operating results for the year ending Dec. 31, 2007. Total revenue surged 192.4% to RMB 10.5 billion as compared to 2006 and profit from operations jumped 82.9% to RMB 1.8 billion from the previous year. Net profit also rose 85.5% to RMB 1.4 billion from the previous year. Shares of Guangshen ripped higher by 9% to $29.74 on twice the average daily volume.

Chinese online gaming operator The9 Limited (NCTY Quote) announced it has made a strategic investment in Korean online game developer G10 Entertainment. Under the terms of the deal, The9 Limited has acquired a minority stake in G10 in exchange for a cash investment of around $38 million. Shares of The9 rose 2.3% to $20.50.