Asian stocks close mostly higher
HONG KONG, Feb 25: Asian shares closed mostly higher on Monday with sentiment underpinned by a rally on Wall Street where investors were offered some relief from the latest bout of subprime jitters.
US stocks rebounded late Friday following a report a bailout for troubled bond insurer Ambac Financial could be announced this week by a consortium of banks, which includes Citigroup and Wachovia.
Ambac and other major bond insurers have been hard hit in the financial turmoil stemming from the US real estate crisis and related credit squeeze.
Asian trade, particularly Japan, was also aided by a growing belief that regional economic strength could limit the impact of a recession in the United States, however this was not enough to offset heavy losses in China.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices soared by more than three per cent to a five-week high after a rally on Wall Street triggered by hopes of a rescue package for a major US bond insurer.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 414.11 points to 13,914.57.
The Nikkei has now regained its February 4 high of 13,889.24, which was seen as a key technical level, dealers said.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed weaker after a 4.0 per cent slump in Shanghai with trade cautious ahead of a raft of US economic data and future contract settlements this week.
Select retailers drew interest on hopes that consumer spending will be boosted by expected tax rebates as the government prepares to unveil the budget for the next fiscal year.
The Hang Seng index closed down 35.90 points at 23,269.14.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed up 1.1 per cent as bargain hunters picked through banking stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed up 61.7 points at 5,621.6.Turnover was 1.4 billion shares worth 5.5 billion dollars (5.09 billion US).
We’ve also seen some interest in Wesfarmers and Babcock (& Brown) and some of the other stocks that reported reasonable numbers last week.Among the banks, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia led the sector higher, gaining 2.08 dollars or 4.9 per cent to 44.67 dollars.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.53 per cent higher, tracking a rally on Wall Street triggered by hopes of a rescue package for a troubled US bond insurer. The Straits Times Index rose 16.31 points to 3,064.95.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed little changed amid continued investor caution ahead of general elections next month, and before key events in the US this week. The composite index rose 1.31 points to 1,370.79.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.4 per cent higher, supported by gains on Wall Street last week and by expectations that key firms will report strong 2007 earnings.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed flat, amid another down day for market leader Telecom, dealers said. The NZSX-50 index rose 1.13 points to 3,570.75.
Telecom sank 12 cents to 3.89 dollars, although the stock went ex-dividend by seven cents and had been outperforming beforehand, Forsyth Barr broker David Price said.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices rose 1.74 per cent on optimism that the US mortgage-linked credit crisis was easing.
The 30-share Mumbai Sensex index rose 301.5 points to 17,650.57.
The markets recovered led by improving global trends, said a dealer with brokerage Jamnadas Morarjee.—AFP