Asian stocks rise on hopes for Fed policy easing
Thursday, 7 October 2010
BANGKOK, Oct 6 (AP): Asian stock markets rallied Wednesday, buoyed by growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will take steps to bolster the US economy following the Bank of Japan's surprise interest rate cut.
Oil prices hovered below $83 a barrel after a report showed US crude supplies unexpectedly jumped last week, suggesting demand may be weaker than anticipated. The dollar fell against the yen and the euro.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gained 149.22 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 9,667.98 after surging 1.5 per cent the previous day.
South Korea's Kospi rose 1 per cent to 1,897.96. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.7 per cent at 4,685.30 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1 per cent to 22,884.65.
Markets in Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Bombay and Taiwan also advanced. Financial markets in mainland China are closed through Oct 7 for the National Day holidays.
Global equity markets surged Tuesday after Japan's central bank cut its key interest rate target to a range of zero to 0.1 per cent, and said it was looking to buy government bonds in an effort to boost the faltering Japanese economy.
Stocks got an additional boost when the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday that its index of business activity at US service companies expanded again last month, and far faster than analysts were expecting. Services are the largest part of the US economy.
Still, there was lingering fears that the Bank of Japan's actions would not be enough to jump-start the country's sputtering economy or put reins on the stubbornly strong yen.
Meanwhile, traders were preparing to turn their attention to other indicators being released this week in the US, including the monthly jobs survey Friday.
Earnings season also gets under way, with Dow component Alcoa Inc. reporting Thursday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 193.45 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 10,944.72 Tuesday -- the highest finish in nearly five months. The Dow also rallied after a trade group said that activity in US services companies -- the nation's predominant job-generating sector -- powered ahead in September.
Oil prices hovered below $83 a barrel after a report showed US crude supplies unexpectedly jumped last week, suggesting demand may be weaker than anticipated. The dollar fell against the yen and the euro.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gained 149.22 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 9,667.98 after surging 1.5 per cent the previous day.
South Korea's Kospi rose 1 per cent to 1,897.96. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.7 per cent at 4,685.30 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1 per cent to 22,884.65.
Markets in Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Bombay and Taiwan also advanced. Financial markets in mainland China are closed through Oct 7 for the National Day holidays.
Global equity markets surged Tuesday after Japan's central bank cut its key interest rate target to a range of zero to 0.1 per cent, and said it was looking to buy government bonds in an effort to boost the faltering Japanese economy.
Stocks got an additional boost when the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday that its index of business activity at US service companies expanded again last month, and far faster than analysts were expecting. Services are the largest part of the US economy.
Still, there was lingering fears that the Bank of Japan's actions would not be enough to jump-start the country's sputtering economy or put reins on the stubbornly strong yen.
Meanwhile, traders were preparing to turn their attention to other indicators being released this week in the US, including the monthly jobs survey Friday.
Earnings season also gets under way, with Dow component Alcoa Inc. reporting Thursday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 193.45 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 10,944.72 Tuesday -- the highest finish in nearly five months. The Dow also rallied after a trade group said that activity in US services companies -- the nation's predominant job-generating sector -- powered ahead in September.