Asian Markets Surge on Wall Street Rally; Optimism That the Worst Is in the Past.
Asian stocks surged Wednesday amid a growing belief that the worst of the credit crisis is over, following a similar rally on Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 index rose 4.2 percent to 13,189.4 in Tokyo. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 3.2 percent to 23,872.4.
Benchmark indices in Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines all gained more than 2 percent. And in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index finished 0.6 percent higher after having gained as much as 4.1 percent. "Investors believe the credit crisis in the U.S. is over," said Francis Lun, a general manager at Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong. "They think the worst has gone."
Wall Street began the second quarter with a big rally Tuesday with many investors sensing a respite from the credit crisis that has battered many major banks, and optimism that the U.S. economy is faring better than expected.
Financial stocks were among the big winners in U.S. and Asian trading after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Switzerland's UBS AG issued new shares to help bolster their balance sheets. The news offset even an announcement that UBS will write down a fresh $19 billion (12 billion euros) due to additional declines in the value of its mortgage assets and other credit instruments. In New York Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrials climbed nearly 400 points, around 3.2 percent, to 12,654.4, and all the major U.S. stock indexes were up more than 3 percent.
In Tokyo trading, megabank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group soared 9.8 percent, Mizuho Financial Group gained 10 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group jumped 9 percent. Property company Mitsui Fudosan climbed 12 percent and Sumitomo Realty & Development gained 12 percent.
Easing concerns about the credit crisis also prompted the dollar to rise against the yen, boosting the buying of exporter issues such as automakers and electronics companies, traders said. Honda Motor Co. rose 7.4 percent, and Canon gained 6 percent.
Chinese financial firms led the blue chip gains in Hong Kong. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the nation's biggest lender by assets, soared 4.9 percent, China Construction Bank added 4.8 percent and Bank of Communications increased 6.5 percent. Oil companies also climbed higher, with Sinopec rising 6.3 percent and CNOOC adding 3.5 percent.
Some analysts warned, though, that the rebound could be precarious. Asian markets are still "hinged to the credit crunch problem in the U.S. and Europe," said Castor Pang, a strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial in Hong Kong. "If the problem turns worse again, the money will leave Asia."
Asian stocks surged Wednesday amid a growing belief that the worst of the credit crisis is over, following a similar rally on Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 index rose 4.2 percent to 13,189.4 in Tokyo. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 3.2 percent to 23,872.4.
Benchmark indices in Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines all gained more than 2 percent. And in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index finished 0.6 percent higher after having gained as much as 4.1 percent. "Investors believe the credit crisis in the U.S. is over," said Francis Lun, a general manager at Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong. "They think the worst has gone."
Wall Street began the second quarter with a big rally Tuesday with many investors sensing a respite from the credit crisis that has battered many major banks, and optimism that the U.S. economy is faring better than expected.
Financial stocks were among the big winners in U.S. and Asian trading after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Switzerland's UBS AG issued new shares to help bolster their balance sheets. The news offset even an announcement that UBS will write down a fresh $19 billion (12 billion euros) due to additional declines in the value of its mortgage assets and other credit instruments. In New York Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrials climbed nearly 400 points, around 3.2 percent, to 12,654.4, and all the major U.S. stock indexes were up more than 3 percent.
In Tokyo trading, megabank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group soared 9.8 percent, Mizuho Financial Group gained 10 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group jumped 9 percent. Property company Mitsui Fudosan climbed 12 percent and Sumitomo Realty & Development gained 12 percent.
Easing concerns about the credit crisis also prompted the dollar to rise against the yen, boosting the buying of exporter issues such as automakers and electronics companies, traders said. Honda Motor Co. rose 7.4 percent, and Canon gained 6 percent.
Chinese financial firms led the blue chip gains in Hong Kong. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the nation's biggest lender by assets, soared 4.9 percent, China Construction Bank added 4.8 percent and Bank of Communications increased 6.5 percent. Oil companies also climbed higher, with Sinopec rising 6.3 percent and CNOOC adding 3.5 percent.
Some analysts warned, though, that the rebound could be precarious. Asian markets are still "hinged to the credit crunch problem in the U.S. and Europe," said Castor Pang, a strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial in Hong Kong. "If the problem turns worse again, the money will leave Asia."
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