HONG KONG, Feb 13: Asian shares rose on Friday as bargain-hunters moved in following heavy losses the day before and as dealer sentiment picked up on hopes for the launch of further stimulus packages around the world.

China led the rally, adding 3.23 per cent on expectations Beijing will announce market-boosting measures for the industrial sector following deals for other areas of the economy. The hike helped lift Hong Kong shares by 2.5 per cent and Taipei 2.82 per cent.

Tokyo added almost one per cent after three straight sessions of falls, while Sydney put on 1.27 per cent on a day the Australian parliament passed a second economic stimulus package worth US$28 billion.

TOKYO: Up 0.96 per cent. The Nikkei-225 climbed 74.04 points to end at 7,779.40. Exporters got a lift from the weaker yen.

HONG KONG: Up 2.5 per cent. The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended 326.37 points up at 13,554.67.

The bourse was helped by China-focused companies tracking gains on the mainland bourse.

SYDNEY: Up 1.27 per cent. The benchmark SP/ASX 200 was up 44.8 points at 3,559.1.

Shares were led higher by a strong performance from the banking sector, dealers said.

Rio fell 1.00 dollar (65 US cents), or 1.92 per cent, to 51.00 dollars, while rival BHP Billiton was up 23 cents at 32.70.

SINGAPORE: Up 1.23 per cent. The STI rose 20.68 points to 1,705.64. Trade remained lacklustre due to worries about the state of the US economy, dealers said.

Keppel Land put on 11 cents to 1.43.

Singapore Airlines jumped 16 cents to 10.60 and Singapore Telecommunications gained six cents to 2.51.

KUALA LUMPUR: Up 1.7 per cent. The KLCI added 15.24 points to close at 909.84.

Gamuda added 10 per cent to 2.10 ringgit while Sime Darby lost 0.9 per cent to 5.70 ringgit.

JAKARTA: Up 1.0 per cent. The Jakarta Composite Index rose 13.32 points to 1,338.74 in thin volume.

The market followed the lead of regional bourses.

Bank Rakyat Indonesia gained 4.7 per cent to 4,425 rupiah and coal miner Bumi climbed 1.4 per cent to 740 rupiah.

MUMBAI: Up 1.78 per cent. The Sensex index rose 168.91 points to 9,634.74. Infrastructure stocks rose on hopes that the government will announce an economic stimulus package in its interim budget next week, dealers said.

WELLINGTON: Flat. The NZX-50 rose 0.63 points or 0.02 per cent to 2,750.77.

Prices were barely changed despite being weighed by market leader Telecom reporting a 59 per cent fall in its six-month net profit, dealers said.

Telecom, New Zealand’s largest listed company, fell three cents to 2.63 dollars after announcing a first-half net profit of $162 million .

Fletcher Building, which reported a 27 per cent fall in profit the previous day, rose 30 cents to 5.84.—AFP