HONG KONG, Jan 30: Asian markets rose on Wednesday after the Dow finished near its all-time closing high, with Japan’s Nikkei leading the way, fuelled by continuing weakness in the yen.

Tokyo jumped 2.28 per cent, or 247.23 points, to 11,113.95, its highest finish since April 2010. Sydney rose 0.16 per cent, or 7.7 points, to 4,896.7 while Seoul climbed 0.43 per cent, or 8.47 points, to 1,964.43.

Hong Kong stocks ended 0.71 per cent higher, adding 166.89 points to 23,822.06, and Shanghai gained 1.00 per cent, or 23.50 points, to 2,382.48.

In other markets: Taipei rose 0.40 per cent, or 30.98 points, to 7,832.98. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was 0.50 per cent higher at Tw$101.5 while leading smartphone maker HTC added 1.93 to Tw$290.0.

Singapore closed up 0.80 per cent, or 26.15 points, to 3,285.90. Oil-rig maker Keppel Corp gained 0.95 per cent to Sg$11.64 while DBS Bank rose 0.41 per cent to Sg$14.83.

Kuala Lumpur shares fell 9.61 points, or 0.59 per cent, to close at 1,627.73. Axiata Group shed 0.9 per cent to 6.29 ringgit, while Telekom Malaysia fell 0.4 per cent to 5.56. Maxis added 0.2 per cent to 6.37 ringgit.

Jakarta ended up 13.94 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 4,452,98. Cigarette producer Gudang Garam rose 2.68 per cent to 51,700 rupiah, food manufacturer Cahaya Kalbar gained 2.14 per cent to 1,430 rupiah while carmaker Astra International lost 1.30 per cent to 7,600 rupiah.

Mumbai ended flat, up 0.07 per cent, or 14.10 points, to 20,005.00, even as the rupee rose to 53.3 to the dollar, a three-month-high.—AFP