HONG KONG, Oct 30: Asian stocks soared on Thursday as interest rate cuts boosted investor confidence and brought bargain hunters out after weeks of misery amid the global financial crisis.

Investors shrugged off a fall on Wall Street and piled back into markets that had lost half their value since the start of the year.

Hong Kong leapt 12.8 per cent, a year to the day after it reached its record peak, while Japan’s Nikkei index soared 9.96 per cent to log its fourth biggest gain ever as a weaker yen provided a boost to exporters.

Seoul shares surged 11.95 per cent, their largest ever rise, after the US Federal Reserve reached a currency swap deal with the central bank of South Korea to help it cope with the credit crisis.

Sydney was four per cent up, while Taipei added 6.29 per cent and Shanghai rose 2.55 per cent.

Singapore gained 7.8 per cent owing to a deal between its central bank and the Fed similar to that in South Korea.

Investors welcomed rate cuts in the United States, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and there was speculation Japan’s central bank may follow suit Friday.

The Fed cut its key lending rate by half a point Wednesday to 1.0 per cent, a move that had been widely expected.

Analysts said an unusually bleak assessment of the economy from the Fed suggested there could be further cuts.

China’s central bank cut its rate by 27 basis points to 3.60 per cent, while Taiwan lopped 0.25 per centage points off its key rate and Hong Kong slashed its figure by 0.5 per centage points to 1.5 per cent.

Japan’s central bank is reportedly considering reducing its super-low rates to just 0.25 per cent.

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei stock index leapt 9.96 per cent.

The benchmark rose 817.86 points, or 9.96 per cent, to close at 9,029.76.

The last time the index ended above 9,000 points was on October 21. The Nikkei has rebounded 29 per cent from a 26-year intra-day low of 6,994.90 seen on Tuesday, but it is still down 42 per cent this year.

Despite the rebound, analysts said it was too early to say markets were over the worst of a global financial crisis.

“We still can’t say the tide is turning,” said Motoki Ichikawa at Japan’s SMBC Friend Securities.

HONG KONG: Shares closed 12.8 per cent higher.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index jumped 1,627.78 points to 14,329.85. Turnover was higher than recent sessions at 75.12 billion Hong Kong dollars (9.63 billion US).

Gains were spread across the board but China stocks, particularly banks and developers, outperformed on the back of the mainland interest rate cut.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed up 4.0 per cent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 climbed 155.5 points to 4001.1, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 151.5 points to 3,957.3.

A total of 1.65 billion shares worth 5.26 billion dollars (3.5 billion US dollars) was traded.

BHP Billiton gained 8.75 per cent to 28.60 while takeover target Rio Tinto was up 9.24 per cent at 77.32.

Lihir Gold shot up 19.19 per cent to 2.05 and Newcrest Mining rose 9.73 per cent to 20.52.

National Australia Bank climbed 4.9 per cent to 24.19 and ANZ was up 1.86 per cent at 17.56 while Commonwealth Bank fell 0.27 per cent to 40.19.

SINGAPORE: Shares closed 7.8 per cent higher.

The main Straits Times Index surged 130.71 points to finish at 1,801.91.

Volume traded totalled 1.82 billion shares worth 1.60 billion Singapore dollars (1.07 billion US).

Flag carrier Singapore Airlines ended 48 cents higher at 10.78 while Singapore Telecommunications gained two cents to 2.43.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares rose 2.9 per cent.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 24.15 points to end at 853.56.

Genting gained five per cent to 4.20 ringgit while Maybank added three per cent to 5.15.Plantation giant Sime Darby rose 3.39 per cent to 6.10 ringgit while Telekom Malaysia lost 1.22 per cent and Tenaga shed 0.83 per cent at 5.95.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares ended 5.4 per cent higher.

The Jakarta Composite Index gained 60.24 points to 1,173.86 in moderate trade.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.63 per cent higher.

The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 17.223 points to 2,762.82 on turnover worth 83.67 million dollars (48.56 million US).

Telecom jumped 10 cents to 2.31 dollars while Fletcher Building fell 12 cents to 5.49 and Contact Energy was four cents off at 7.11.

Freightways fell six cents to 3.00 and Mainfreight eased 20 cents to 5.10.—AFP