HONG KONG, Nov 10: A massive economic stimulus package from Beijing, a Wall Street rally and a pledge by the world’s major economies to do what is needed to overcome the credit crisis helped Asian stocks soar Monday.
There were also hopes that a meeting of world leaders in Washington at the weekend would come up with something positive to ease pressure on the global financial markets amid an economic slowdown.
Tokyo leapt almost six percent and Shanghai surged 7.27 per cent on the back of the 586-billion-dollar deal announced by China -- Japan’s biggest trading partner -- which it hopes will boost domestic consumption.
Hong Kong added 3.5 per cent, Sydney was 1.4 per cent higher, while Seoul rose 1.6 per cent and Singapore was up 1.16 per cent.
The Group of 20 major wealthy and emerging nations meanwhile pledged Sunday in Sao Paulo to take “all necessary steps” to boost sagging market confidence and give a bigger voice to developing countries in global economic affairs.
The meeting aimed to lay the groundwork for a November 15 summit on the financial turmoil in Washington.
And Fitch Ratings downgraded its sovereign ratings outlook on South Korea to negative from stable due to the impact of the global financial crisis.
TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei stock index soared 5.8 per cent.
China’s plan was a positive surprise to the Japanese market, Mizuho Securities strategist Tomochika Kitaoka told Dow Jones Newswires.
The Nikkei rose 498.43 points to 9,081.43.
The Topix index of all first section issues rose 37.65 points, or 4.28 per cent, to 916.65. Construction equipment maker Komatsu, which relies heavily on demand from China, rose 12 per cent to 1,254 yen.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 3.5 per cent higher.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 501.2 points at 14,744.63, after surging above 15,000 points soon after the opening. Turnover was 60.71 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.78 billion US).
The bourse has jumped 38 per cent in the last two weeks. Chalco soared 19pc to $3.45 .
SYDNEY: Australian shares closed up 1.4 per cent.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 56.5 points to close at 4,107.8 while the broader All Ordinaries gained 53.4 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 4,060.0.
Turnover was 1.23 billion shares worth $3.91 billion (2.7 billion US).
Analysts said Beijing’s decision to pour four trillion yuan (586 billion US dollars) into the economy by the end of 2010 to counter the global financial crisis led resources higher.
SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed 1.16 per cent higher.
The blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) closed up 21.53 points at 1,885.02 on volume of 1.42 billion shares worth 1.07 billion dollars (721 million US).
Gainers led losers 269 to 192 while 851 issues were unchanged.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices rose 1.2 per cent.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 10.29 points to close at 904.24.
IOI Corp rose 3.9 per cent to 3.24 ringgit and gambling group Genting was 2.7 per cent stronger at 4.62 ringgit.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares ended up 0.2 per cent.
The Jakarta Composite Index rose 2.32 points to 1,340.68.
Nickel miner Inco rose 5.1 percent to 2,070 rupiah, while gas and oil firm Medco Energi gained 4.6 percent to 2,300 on news it has found more reserves in Libya.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 1.66 per cent higher.
The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 46.20 points to close at 2,837.85.
Fletcher Building rose eight cents to 5.76 dollars and Contact Energy was unchanged at 7.41 dollars.
MUMBAI: Indian shares rose 5.74 per cent on Monday, crossing the 10,000-point level.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex index jumped 571.87 points to 10,536.16.—AFP