Thursday's Asia ADR Recap

A spokesperson for Tata Motors(TTM Quote) said to a news agency that the Indian auto giant plans to take a minority stake in Italian car designer Pininfarina. Under the deal, both firms will launch a R&D and engineering center in Pune, India. Pininfarina is best known for designing the Italian luxury sports car Ferrari. Shares of Tata finished essentially flat at $16.13.

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

Stocks in China hit a one-day record gain of 9.3% on Thursday after the Ministry of Finance cut the tax stamp on stock transactions, in a move to support falling share prices. Dealers in the region said the timing of the tax stamp cut couldn't have happened at a better time, with the Shanghai Index hovering around the psychologically important 3,000 level. The Shanghai Composite Index exploded higher by 304.7 points, or 9.3%, to 3,583.

"The government has taken a stand and shown that they are here, and that they don't want the market to drop further," said Dale Tsang, managing director at Imperial Dragon Asset Management.

The tax stamp cut also helped to lift shares in Hong Kong to a three-month closing high. "The news of the stamp duty cut is providing a boost to sentiment, but given recent gains in the Hang Seng Index, further upside will be limited in the short term," said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities.