HONG KONG, Oct 21: Asian stocks were broadly higher on Tuesday, with Tokyo and Sydney leading a rally on hopes for a second stimulus package in the United States and a thawing in the credit markets.

But the rises were balanced with a 1.8-per cent fall in Hong Kong, which was hit after the announcement that a Chinese-backed investment firm may have lost up to two billion dollars on bad currency bets.

The Nikkei closed 3.34 per cent higher following its third straight day of rises, while Sydney jumped 3.9 per cent. Taipei was also slightly higher.

However, Hong Kong, which started in positive territory, fell into the red as Citic Pacific plunged to a 10-year low after it emerged a top executive had been making improper forex bets on the Australian dollar and the euro.

Elsewhere, Mumbai soared 4.5 per cent and Manila was up 2.6 per cent, while Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur gained almost one per cent. Bangkok edged up 0.39 per cent.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices rebounded for a third day.

The Nikkei-225 index climbed 300.66 points, or 3.34 per cent, to 9,306.25.

Short-term money markets are also relatively calm, said Mizuho Investors Securities broker Masatoshi Sato.

The global financial turmoil appears to have receded somewhat, he said.

The Topix index of all first-section shares gained 29.27 points, or 3.16 per cent, to 956.64.

Despite the recent recovery, the Nikkei is still down 17 per cent since the start of the month.

Investors are waiting nervously for a slew of upcoming US and Japanese corporate earning results.

Inpex Holdings gained 9.6 per cent to 683,000 yen and Nippon Mining climbed 11.6 per cent to 326 yen.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed down 1.8 per cent.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 281.84 points at 15,041.17.

Turnover was light at 50.67 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.50 billion US).

The fall came despite positive trading days on many of the world’s stock markets.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed 3.9 per cent higher.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 160.2 points to 4,302.5 while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 152.7 points at 4,251.4.

About 1.24 billion shares worth 4.52 billion dollars (3.12 billion US) changed hands.

The positive sentiment follows a 4.3 per cent rise on Monday, when Australian mining stocks rose sharply on the back of more stable commodity prices.

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed 0.95 per cent lower.

The main Straits Times Index fell 18.43 points to 1,920.79. Volume totalled 1.19 billion shares worth 1.09 billion Singapore dollars (741 million US). Singapore’s economy is already in a technical recession, generally defined as two straight quarters of contractions in gross domestic product.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian stocks rose 0.95 per cent.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 8.65 points to close at 918.16.

BAT rose 1.8 per cent at 41.25 ringgit while Bumi-Commerce gained 1.4 per cent at 7.35 and Gamuda added 7.3 per cent at 1.61 ringgit. Telekom Malaysia rose 0.6 per cent at 3.38 ringgit while top bank Maybank gained 1.89 at 5.40.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 0.9 per cent higher.

The Jakarta Composite Index rose 13.21 points to end at 1440.15.

Telkom rose 4.4 per cent to 7,100 rupiah and car distributor Astra rose 3.1 per cent to 11,500.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 2.15 per cent higher. The benchmark NZX-50 Index rose 62.09 points to 2,952.01. Telecom lost six cents and closed at $2.44.

Fletcher Building gained 24 cents to 6.45 and Contact Energy was up 25 cents at 7.55. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare advanced 12 cents to 3.27.

MUMBAI: Indian shares rose 4.5 per cent as investor confidence grew on hopes that the central bank would further ease its monetary policy in coming weeks, dealers said.

The 30-share Sensex rose 460.3 points to 10,683.39.—AFP