Asian markets close sharply higher; Nikkei surges 14%
10/14/2008 6:30 AM ET
(RTTNews) -
The stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region rallied on Tuesday after Wall Street rebounded overnight, posting its biggest one-day percentage gains since 1933. Japan's key Nikkei index soared more than 14% after governments around the world revealed plans to take stakes in banks to keep the global financial system from collapsing. However, the Chinese market bucked the trend to finish in negative territory. The U.S. dollar strengthened against the yen and oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday.
In late Asian trade, oil was quoted at $83.39 a barrel, up $2.20, after the the contract for November delivery rose by $3.49 to settle at $81.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.
On the economic front, the U.S. dollar weakened slightly to the mid 102-yen levels in late Tokyo deals from the upper 102-yen range in early trade. On Friday, the dollar was quoted in the lower 99-yen levels. The financial markets in Japan remained closed on Monday on account of a public holiday. The South Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar. The won ended the local session at 1,208.0 a dollar, up 30 a dollar from Monday's close of 1,238.0.
The Australian dollar closed above US$0.71 as risk appetite improved following efforts taken by governments around the globe to ease credit crisis. The Aussie finished at US$0.7106-0.7111, up more than four U.S. cents, or 6.5%, from Monday's close of US$0.6672-0.6677. The New Zealand dollar continued to strengthen against major currencies on higher risk appetite. The kiwi closed the local trade at US$0.6228, up from US$0.5980 late Monday.
The Japanese stock market posted its biggest ever gain, with the key Nikkei index soaring more than 14%. The benchmark Nikkei index closed up 1,171.14 points, or 14.15%, at 9,447.57, recording its largest percentage gain since October 2, 1990. On Friday, the Nikkei index had plunged 9.62%, posting its biggest loss in two decades. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 115.44 points, or 13.73%, to finish at 956.30.
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