Asian markets surge on China, Japan stimulus hopes

Videos
Photos

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-13 16:25

HONG KONG -- Asian markets soared Friday, following on the heels of Wall Street, as the prospect of fresh stimulus measures in China and Japan and upbeat signals from major US firms like Bank of America sparked hopes of a turnaround in the world economy.

A man walks past a stock index board outside a brokerage in Tokyo March 11, 2009. [Agencies]

Major markets were higher throughout the region, with Japan's index shooting up more than 5 percent and Hong Kong's benchmark gaining almost 4 percent. Companies across all industries, from Japanese exporters to Australian resource firms and Chinese banks, posted strong gains.

Boosting confidence were comments from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that the government -- already moving ahead with a 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package -- stood ready to roll out even more measures if needed to rejuvenate the world's third-largest economy. In Tokyo, speculation grew authorities were preparing more steps to support the Japan's own sagging economy.

Investors were also cheered by an overnight rally on Wall Street, driven partly by more signs that US financial companies are on the mend. Bank of America's CEO said his bank, America's largest, was profitable in January and February. Better-than-expected retail sales figures further girded sentiment.

Still, analysts were reluctant to predict an end to the vicious selling that has ravaged global stock markets this year. This week's gains are partly the result of investors, who had shorted the market, now covering their bets, not a wholesale change in the outlook for the slumping world economy.

"The economy is not disappearing yet, so that's good news. But there's still not enough confirmation that we are at a bottom," said Henry Chan, Hong Kong-based head of Asian equities at Baring Asset Management, which oversees about $6 billion in regional equities. "The markets are oversold, so technically you have to have a bounce."

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock average jumped 373.39 points, or 5.2 percent, to 7,568.64, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 430.44 points, or 3.6 percent, to 12,431.97.

Shanghai's benchmark was up 0.8 percent, while stock measures in Australia and Singapore added 3 percent or more.

Overnight in New York, the Dow rose 239.66, or 3.5 percent, to 7,170.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 29.38, or 4.1 percent, to 750.74. The Nasdaq composite index gained 54.46, or 4 percent, to 1,426.10.

Oil prices, which surged overnight, slipped below $47 a barrel as investors jockeyed over whether OPEC will announce a production cut at its meeting on Sunday, and how big the cut might be.

Benchmark crude for April delivery fell 32 cents to $46.71 a barrel by midday in Singapore on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices vaulted $4.70 on Thursday to settle at $47.03.