HONG KONG, Feb 4: Asian stocks posted strong gains on Monday in the wake of a Wall Street rally, with Shanghai surging more than eight per cent, providing investors with some much-needed cheer after a dire start to 2008.

Microsoft’s huge takeover bid for Yahoo galvanised buying interest that spread from New York to Asia, despite Friday’s unexpectedly weak US jobs data.

Chinese share prices surged 8.13 per cent, the biggest single-day gain in two and a half years, on news that the domestic securities regulator had approved two new stock funds.

Elsewhere gains were less spectacular but most markets still turned in a solid performance. And there was optimism that stocks may be able to extend the recovery.

Prices were also helped after world oil prices fell back as concerns about demand appeared to outweigh the impact of the OPEC oil cartel’s decision to hold output steady.

Tokyo ended up 2.69 per cent, Seoul rose 3.4 per cent and Hong Kong closed 3.8 per cent higher. Singapore surged 2.3 per cent, Jakarta was 2.1 per cent higher, Kuala Lumpur was up 1.9 per cent and Mumbai rose 2.29 per cent.

Sydney gained a more modest 0.42 per cent, Manila rose 0.9 per cent while Wellington and Bangkok both closed flat.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed up 2.69 per cent Monday in the wake of Wall Street’s gains Friday triggered by Microsoft’s huge bid for Yahoo.

The Nikkei-225 index rose 362.54 points to 13,859.70. Turnover dropped to 2.026 billion shares from 2.114 billion shares on Friday.

Investors were cheered by gains on Wall Street where US stocks rose Friday on news of a blockbuster 44.6-billion-dollar bid by Microsoft for Yahoo.

The move helped to offset worries about unexpectedly weak US employment figures. The US economy lost 17,000 jobs in January, the first drop in more than four years, the government reported on Friday.

There was optimism that stocks may be able to extend the recovery.

Although there is an emerging view that earnings of Japanese companies in the fiscal year to March 2009 will decline because of the expected global slowdown, the market has already priced that in to some extent, he said.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed sharply higher, up 3.8 per cent, following a rebound on the Shanghai bourse and positive sentiment from a strong Wall Street showing.

The Hang Seng index closed up 908.50 points at 25,032.08. Turnover was 117.62 billion Hong Kong dollars (15.07 billion US).

The Shanghai bourse’s benchmark index finished up 8.13 per cent Monday -- its biggest gain in two and a half years -- after China’s securities regulator approved two new stock funds, ending a five-month freeze on creation of such products.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed up 0.42 per cent, partially buoyed by speculation surrounding the proposed merger between major miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

The S&P/ASX 200 gained 24.5 points to 5,867.4. Turnover was 1.83 billion shares worth $6.67 billion (US$6.03 bn).

CMC Markets chief analyst David Land said while the major indices finished ahead, they had slipped back from earlier highs of more than 6,000 points.

That’s what was driving everything earlier in the day.By the afternoon, investors had shifted their focus to the US economy.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 2.30 per cent higher boosted by positive sentiment on Wall Street.Dealers said investors were chasing bargains although worries over the fate of the United States economy remained.

The Straits Times Index closed 69.28 points higher at 3,077.08 on volume of 1.51 billion shares worth 2.14 billion Singapore dollars (1.51 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices rose 1.9 per cent tracking gains across Asian markets after Friday’s rally on Wall Street fueled by a cut in interest rates.

The Malaysian bourse is in a recovery trend and that may last for a couple of days with a pre-Chinese New Year rally now coming into the picture, said Tee Sze Chiah, analyst at Aseambankers Investment Bank.

The composite index closed up 26.41 points at 1,419.66 on volume of 869.33 million shares worth 2.19 billion ringgit (678 million dollars).

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 2.1 per cent higher in line with regional markets after Wall Street’s advance, and boosted by hopes domestic inflation would ease this month.

Dealers said government measures to stabilise food prices may help ease inflationary pressure in coming weeks, thus allowing the central bank to cut its key interest rate.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed little changed as investors ignored strong gains elsewhere in Asia.

The NZX-50 index rose just 3.61 points to 3,711.73 on turnover worth 113.98 million dollars (89.60 million US).

Certainly the world equity markets have settled down somewhat over the past week or so and that’s allowed our market to just hold its own ground at the moment, Williamson said.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices rose 2.29 per cent led by Asian gains after the mega 44.6-billion-dollar bid by Microsoft for Yahoo last week boosted investor optimism.

The 30-share Sensex index rose 417.74 points to 18,660.32. Funds were bargain-hunting in index and mid-cap stocks. We expect volatility to sustain on low volumes, said Advait Date, a dealer at brokerage BHH Securities.—AFP