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HONG KONG, Aug 8: Asian stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday after the United States Federal Reserve met expectations by holding interest rates at current levels and noted problems in US the mortgage industry.
Those concerns, particularly sub-prime loans to risky borrowers, sparked a wave of global selling in equities, however, overnight the Fed maintained its outlook for moderate economic expansion despite housing market concerns.
This supported Wall Street which closed with modest gains while regional markets did substantially better with investors playing catch up after failing to match gains in New York during the previous session.
Jakarta was by far the standout on the day, lifting 4.1 per cent. Singapore leapt 3.37 per cent and Hong Kong was up 2.87 per cent.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed above the key 17,000 points level for the first time in over a week after the Federal Reserve predicted continued moderate growth in the US economy.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 107.51 points to 17,029.28. Turnover was 2.54 billion shares, up from 2.04 billion Tuesday.
Relief prevailed in the market after the Fed's comments, easing concerns that the US sub-prime mortgage problem's could affect the economy, said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Management.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed sharply higher, adding 2.87 per cent in a technical rebound driven by the Federal Reserve's assurances that the US economy remains solid.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 628.68 points at 22,536.67. Turnover was 76 billion dollars (9.74 billion US).
The gains Wednesday reversed all of the ground lost earlier in the week as investors fretted that a credit crunch in the US would slow global growth.
Cathay Pacific highlighted the robust performance of major companies as its first-half net profit topped market expectations.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed 1.9 per cent higher, continuing firmer in line with Wall Street's recovery from recent losses sparked by concerns over US sub-prime mortgage losses.
The rise built on a 1.1 per cent gain Tuesday which followed sharp losses sparked by concerns the US housing market's woes would spread to the wider US economy and slow global growth.
The S&P/ASX 200 jumped 115.8 points to 6,100.8. Volume was 1.6 billion shares worth 6.6 billion dollars (5.6 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices surged 3.37 per cent, with banking stocks leading the rebound on easing concerns over the impact of troubles in the US sub-prime mortgage market.
The Straits Times Index gained 111.16 points to finish at 3,413.17 on volume of 2.40 billion shares worth 2.53 billion Singapore dollars (1.68 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 1.3 per cent higher on a technical rebound amid assurances that the US economy remained sound.
The composite index rose 17.04 points at 1,307.17 on volume of 1.189 billion shares, valued at 1.981 billion ringgit (6.81 billion dollars).
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 4.1 per cent higher as Wall Street's overnight advance sparked bargain-hunting after recent steep losses.
The composite index closed up 88.57 points at 2,262.64 with 4.40 billion shares traded valued at 4.29 trillion rupiah (461.44 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.47 per cent lower in mixed trading, as leading stocks ignored gains in overseas markets.
The NZX-50 index fell 19.39 points to 4,116.85 on turnover worth 127.3 million dollars (96.9 million US).
Second-ranked Fletcher Building fell 42 cents to 12.18 dollars.
Although net profit rose, investors focussed on an expected soft outlook for home construction in the company's key markets, said Paul Nicholson, institutional director with UBS.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices surged 2.51 per cent as software stocks gained on a weaker rupee that followed government curbs on new overseas borrowing.
Dealers said the sentiment also improved after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent on Tuesday.
The Sensex index rose 375.21 points to 15,307.98.
The rupee weakened against the dollar to 40.58 from 40.37 on Wednesday after the finance ministry introduced measures to cut massive foreign currency flows into the economy that led the rupee to strengthen sharply this year.—AFP
