HONG KONG, May 2: Asian stocks closed mostly up on Friday with some key markets surging around two per cent amid growing optimism that the global financial crisis was set to ease.
The Japanese stock market, Asia’s biggest, jumped just over two per cent. Australia and Hong Kong also both ended the session up a similar amount.
Singaporean stocks posted a sharp rise of nearly three per cent, while Taiwan and South Korea also ended in the black.
The Asian rally followed a Wall Street rise on Thursday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 1.48 per cent to close at 13,010 -- the first time it ended a session above 13,000 points since January 3.
The US central bank trimmed American borrowing costs by a quarter-point this week to 2.0 per cent, but some economists think it may now wait for a while before adjusting borrowing costs again.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed up 2.05 per cent at the highest level in almost four months after overnight gains on Wall Street and a weakening of the yen, which boosted exporters, dealers said.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 282.40 points to 14,049.26, the best finish since January 11. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares advanced 31.29 points or 2.32 per cent to 1,377.39.
Gainers outpaced decliners 1,443 to 204, with 75 issues unchanged.
Volume rose slightly to 1.72 billion shares from 1.7 billion shares on Thursday but still remained thin ahead of a long weekend.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed up 1.89 per cent, dealers said.
The Hang Seng index closed up 485.67 points at 26,241.02. Turnover was 89.06 billion Hong Kong dollars (11.41 billion US).
HSBC finished up nearly 0.9 per cent. Sinopec was up over five per cent on lower. PetroChina was up over four per cent.
SYDNEY: Australian shares closed up 2.1 per cent, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 114.6 points to close at 5,700.4, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 107.7 points to 5,760.4. Volume was 5.6 billion dollars (5.2 billion US).
Westpac extended gains, rising 5.3 per cent to 25.85 dollars after posting a firm first-half to March result. National Australia Bank was up 4.6 per cent at 31.53.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices fell 0.7 per cent, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed down 8.38 points or 0.7 per cent at 1,271.48.
The KLCI’s recovery has probably peaked at 1,300 points, (and is now) pressured by easing commodity prices with a rising greenback” said Vincent Khoo, the head of Aseambankers Research.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 1.7 per cent higher, dealers said.
The Jakarta Composite Index closed up 38.24 points to 2,342.76. Inflation in April came in at the upper end of analyst forecasts.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.85 per cent higher, dealers said.
Generally, I’d say firmness across the board in the blue-chips, a few of those looking a little oversold, so a little bargain hunting going on, said Tom Bliss of Forsyth Barr.
Telecom rose five cents to $3.90. The company announced a 41 per cent fall in March quarter net profit to 140 million dollars. Contact Energy was down 14 cents at $9.56.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices rose 1.81 per cent, dealers said.
The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex index rose 312.81 points to 17,600.12 points.
We are not out of the woods yet. Global uncertainties could pull the markets back, said Ved Prakash Chaturvedi, managing director at Tata Mutual fund.—AFP
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