Asian shares ride global rally

Asian shares extended a global rally on Wednesday, with markets in China stabilising and Japanese stocks posting their biggest one-day gain since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008. Japan's Nikkei soared 7.7 per cent, its biggest single-day gain since October 2008, apparently galvanized by hopes of corporate tax cuts. In the previous session, the Nikkei lost 2.4 per cent and wiped out its year-to-date gain. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan also rallied hard, rising 3 percent as of 0534 GMT, with gains across all the major indices. The Shanghai Composite index climbed 2.3 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 3.5 per cent in further signs of stability. Chinese shares rose late on Tuesday. The dollar put in a mixed performance, rising 0.2 per cent against a basket of six rival currencies to 96.142, and slipping 0.4 per cent against the euro to $1.1160. The euro also gained on the yen, rising 0.2 per cent to 134.40, according to Reuters.

-Shuvo-