HONG KONG, April 21: Asian stocks closed mostly up on Monday despite near-record-high oil prices as hopes grew that the worst of the global financial crisis may be over.

The Australian stock market surged 3.1 per cent and Hong Kong climbed more than two per cent. The Japanese stock market, Asia’s biggest, rose more than 1.6 per cent to its highest level in almost two months.

The Asian rise came after US stocks rallied nearly two per cent Friday.Better-than-expected earnings reports last week from Citigroup, Google and other big firms have led some investors to wonder if a period of intense financial turmoil may be starting to abate.

Asian stocks have tumbled since late 2007 following the default crisis among subprime, or riskier, US mortgages. The crisis caused a global credit crunch and, on IMF estimates, could lead to losses approaching one trillion dollars.

However, analysts said investors now appeared to be less fearful of the financial crisis and predictions of a US economic recession, buoyed in part by the better-than-expected corporate earnings reports.

Moves to alleviate the credit crunch have also helped the mood. The Bank of England announced the latest initiative, a near-100-billion-dollar plan to free up Britain’s home loan market, on Monday.

The Asian rally came even though crude oil was trading at more than $116 per barrel, close to record levels, after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) rejected calls to raise output.

Investors in Asia have been worried that high inflation, due partly to soaring food and fuel costs, could force governments to take steps to curb economic growth, but those concerns took a back seat on Monday.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed up 1.63 per cent at the highest level in almost two months on a weaker yen and easing concerns about the outlook for US corporate earnings, dealers said.

The benchmark Nikkei-225 index climbed 220.10 points to end at 13,696.55, the best finish since February 28. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares advanced 27.45 points or 2.10 per cent to 1,331.51.

Market sentiment is becoming more bullish and support is strong, said Investrust analyst Hiroyuki Fukunaga.

Now that the Dow has broken the technically important threshold of 12,700, I bet a short-covering rally will start and push up the Nikkei to 14,000 points, said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Management.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed up 2.17 per cent, dealers said.

The Hang Seng index closed up 523.89 points at 24,721.67. Turnover was 81.4 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.41 billion US).

A strong rally on Wall Street last Friday and a rebound in mainland markets boosted sentiment, said Tony Tong, deputy head of research at China Everbright Securities.

Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) surged more than 15 per cent on hopes that mainland authorities will approve its plan to acquire a stake in a Chinese bank.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed up 3.1 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 170.6 points to close at 5,600.3, while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 160.1 points at 5,664.2. Volume was 5.2 billion dollars (4.8 billion US).

Jamie Spiteri, the head of trading at Shaw Stockbroking in Sydney, said that the belief was growing that while share prices could be unsteady, there is an underlying bias that the worst may actually be out of the way.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed up 1.48 per cent, dealers said.

The blue chip Straits Times index climbed 46.22 points to 3,171.09. Volume was 1.81 billion dollars (1.34 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed one per cent higher, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite index ended the session up 12.35 points at 1,280.0.

The current rally is not convincing as volume remains lacklustre, said Tee Sze Chiah, an analyst at Aseambankers.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.99 per cent higher, dealers said.

The NZX-50 gross index rose 35.06 points to 3,592.54.

First NZ Securities broker Barry Lindsay said the rise mirrored offshore markets but was more muted.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed up 1.57 per cent, dealers said. The benchmark Mumbai Sensex rose 258.13 points to 16,739.33.

The forecast for normal monsoon rains has eased other concerns, said a broker with ICICI Securities in Mumbai.

India’s June to September monsoon rains are crucial for the farm-dependent economy.—AFP