AFP/Tokyo
Asian markets extended the previous day’s gains yesterday as dealers were cheered by European Central Bank plans to protect the region’s lenders from the sovereign debt crisis.
A trader walks on the floor at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Hong Kong shares yesterday gained 3.11%, or 534.73 points, to close at 17,707.01
Tokyo closed 0.98% higher, adding 83.60 points, to 8,605.62, Sydney ended 2.29%, or 93 points, to 4,162.9 and Seoul surged 2.89%, or 49.45 points, to 4,009.26.
Hong Kong ended 3.11%, or 534.73 points, higher at 17,707.01.
Shanghai was closed for a public holiday.
Wall Street provided a good lead, the Dow closing 1.68% up, the S&P 500 1.83% higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq growing 1.88%.
Investors regained some of their confidence after the ECB held interest rates and announced measures to bolster under-pressure eurozone banks.
The ECB opened two longer-term new lines of credit for banks and pledged to buy up to €40bn of bank bonds as it looked to soothe jittery financial markets.
The move took the edge off recent concerns that the crisis in Greece could spread to other economies and lead to another global downturn.
European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso also gave markets a lift when he said efforts were under way for coordinated action by the 27 European Union states to recapitalise banks.
Also Thursday, Britain’s central bank, the Bank of England, said it would inject £75bn into the stalled economy to stimulate growth.
However, observers remained wary.
“With moves to inject capital into European banks, there are signs of a brighter outlook for progress, although a full resolution is still far off,” said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo.
Alvin Cheung, associate director of Prudential Brokerage, said: “I don’t think the rebound will last long. All the fundamentals haven’t changed. The euro debt crisis remains unresolved and the US economy hasn’t got any better.”
Global markets have been sent spinning in recent weeks as European leaders seem unable to agree how to help Greece avoid a default or how to protect lenders with exposure to Athens.
In Seoul, shares in Samsung Electronics jumped after it tipped a 13.6% year-on-year fall in operating profit, which was better than the 31% decline many had expected.
The South Korean giant’s shares ended 0.6% higher.
In other markets, Taiwan’s weighted index rose 79.96 points, or 1.12%, to 7,211.96; Singapore’s Straits Times Index closed up 37.18 points, or 1.43%, to 2,640.30; Kuala Lumpur shares gained 0.46%, rising 6.36 points to end at 1400.05; Manila jumped 3.05%, or 118.26 points, to 4,009.26; Jakarta fell 17.42 points, or 0.51%, to 3,425.68; Bangkok edged down 0.50%, or 4.55 points, to 909.17 and Wellington ended 1.12%, or 37.25 points, higher at 3,383.46.
