HONG KONG, Jan 22: Asian stocks on Monday shrugged off a mixed performance by Wall Street last week and rallied sharply higher with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington closing at record highs.
Tokyo, up 0.66 per cent, struck a nine month high and this lent support around the region where Australia gained 0.94 on higher metal prices and Singapore rose 2.35 per cent on the prospect of tax cuts. Hong Kong jumped 2.19 per cent and Shanghai leapt 3.59 per cent with fresh funds continuing to chase China stocks.
TOKYO: share prices closed up 0.66 per cent to hit a nine-month high with the weak yen supporting export-related stocks amid optimism about upcoming corporate earnings.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 113.74 points to 17,424.18. Volume rose to 2.03bn shares from 1.89 billion shares Friday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed sharply higher, gaining 2.19 per cent, and sending with the benchmark index to a new high on the back of gains in heavyweights HSBC and China Mobile.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed up 0.94 per cent at a fresh record high as investors bought into resource stocks including index-leading miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.
The SP/ASX 200 jumped 53.5 points to 5,726.6. A total of 1.63 billion shares worth 4.6 billion dollars (3.6 billion US) were traded. Resources stocks climbed after base metal prices such as copper rebounded in London trading on Friday, dealers said.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed at a fresh record high as investors celebrated comments by the city-state's founding father that the corporate tax rate will be lowered. The Straits Times Index rose 72.32 points to 3,145.2. Volume totalled 2.94 billion shares worth 2.3 billion Singapore dollars (1.5bn US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed higher in line with strong gains in regional markets, with timber and banking stocks leading the advance.
The composite index gained 10.09 points at 1,157.85 on volume of 1.41 billion shares worth 2.19 billion ringgit (625.7 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.22 per cent higher on follow-through buying with gains in other East Asian markets and recent low oil prices aiding sentiment.
The composite index closed up 21.850 points at 1,817.409 with 3.0 billion shares worth 2.72 trillion rupiah (299.23 million dollars) changing hands.
WELLINGTON: Share prices rose 0.70 per cent to a fresh record high in thin trade, with strong support for market leader Telecom leading the way.
The NZX-50 index gained 29.98 points to 4,121.09. Turnover was 97.67 million dollars (67.32 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices closed up 0.19 per cent in cautious trade with investors concerned that interest rates may rise after inflation hit a new peak.—AFP