Asian shares jumped Tuesday amid optimism that meetings set for later in the global trading day will bring some details of possible solutions to Europe’s debt crisis.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index vaulted 190.33 points, or 2.3%, to 8,477.82.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index tacked on another 218.39 points, or 1.2%, to 18,256.20
Asian, European and U.S. share markets had closed with sharp gains on Monday, amid optimism for a solution to Europe’s debt woes and after signs of strong U.S. holiday sales.
Experts said the market remains concerned about Europe’s debt troubles but there’s hope that meetings between European finance ministers slated for later Tuesday and Wednesday "may see some kind of solution."
However, the European debt issues are unlikely to be solved in the near term, they also said, adding that so long as markets remain "emotional" about negative European news, they will be very volatile.
Banks were among the gainers in Hong Kong on Tuesday, as mainland Chinese lender Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. advanced 2.3%, while London-based HSBC Holdings PLC and Standard Chartered PLC rose 2.7% and 3.7%, respectively.
Other markets also saw banks move generally higher, with Tokyo-listed Daiwa Securities Group Inc. up 4.1%, and Sydney-listed Macquarie Group Ltd. up 3%.
Many Asian exporters advanced, helped by upbeat U.S. retail sales data showing initial holiday-season sales rising 6.6% to a record high.
On the Hong Kong market, Lenovo Group Ltd. rose 3.8%, and Esprit Holdings Ltd. climbed 4.6%, while ports operator Cosco Pacific Ltd. jumped 7.8%.
Tokyo-listed exporters also gained, helped further by a weakening of the Japanese yen, as the U.S. dollar spent most of the day above the ¥78 mark.
Nissan Motor Co. rose 2.7%, Nintendo Co. climbed 2.9%, Hitachi Ltd. surged 5.5%, and Honda Motor Co. improved by 3.6%.
Gains for consumer-electronics stocks also surfaced in South Korea, where LG Electronics Inc. rose 4.2% and Samsung Electronics Co. closed 2.8% higher.
Energy-sector firms rose after a steep climb for oil futures overnight in New York.
JX Holdings Inc. advanced 2.8% in Tokyo, and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. took back a portion of recent losses with a 2.3% rise in Sydney.
Oil futures retreated in electronic trading but remained above the $98-U.S.-a-barrel mark.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index gained 35.25 points, or 1.4%, to 2,608.57
Taiwan’s Taiex Index jumped 89.87 points, or 1.3%, to 6,988.65
Korea’s Kospi Index advanced 41.24 points, or 2.3%, to 1,856.52
Singapore’s Straits Times Index stood out as the lone naysayer, dropping 6.33 points, or 0.2%,
to 2,688.10
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 21.03 points, or 0.7%, to 3,239.47
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index progressed 43.90 points, or 1.1%, to 4,102.10
