Asian shares joined in a global rally Thursday, soaring as investors welcomed central bank moves to slash dollar credit costs in Europe and ease monetary conditions in China.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 162.77 points, or 1.9%, to 8,597.38.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index skyrocketed 1,012.91 points, or 5.6%, to 19,002.30
The U.S. Federal Reserve, and the central banks of the U.K., the euro-zone, Canada, Japan and Switzerland announced Wednesday that they had agreed to reduce the cost of offering dollar financing through swap arrangements.
As the risks to global funding diminished, banks moved higher, with Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd. up 5.2%, and National Australia Bank Ltd. up 3.3%.
In Japan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. rose 3.1%, and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. climbed 4%.
The gains for banks were more pronounced in Hong Kong, where the Bank of China Ltd. gained 10.4%, China Citic Bank Corp. rose 10.8%, and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. added 9%.
Hong Kong-based economists at Nomura said the Chinese central bank easing policy wasn’t a surprise, given weakening economic momentum.
Among other major gainers Thursday were resource shares, with Rio Tinto Ltd. up 4.7% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. jumping 5.7% in Sydney, while Jiangxi Copper Co. surged 12.6% and Cnooc Ltd. rose 9.4% in Hong Kong,
In the steel sector, Angang Steel Co. rocketed 14.8% in Hong Kong, while in Tokyo, JFE Holdings Inc. advanced 8.9%, and Nippon Steel Corp. rose 7.1%.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index regained 62.09 points, or 2.5%, to 2,583.61
Chinese real-estate firms were also particularly strong after the policy easing, with China Resources Land Ltd. jumping 10.2%, and Agile Property Holdings Ltd. soaring 14.9%.
Late Wednesday, the People’s Bank of China cut its reserve requirement ratio for large banks for the first time since December 2008, following a modest easing for small rural banks last month.
A pair of closely watched surveys of Chinese manufacturers released Thursday indicated the sector slipped into contraction in November, with both the government-sponsored survey and another by HSBC showing their worst results since early 2009.
In other markets;
Taiwan’s Taiex Index jumped 274.57 points, or 4%, to 7,178.69
Korea’s Kospi Index improved 68.67 points, or 3.7%, to 1,916.18
Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 59.42 points, or 2.2%, to 2,761.88
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 7.10 points, or 0.2%, to 3,277.31
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index spiked 108.80 points, or 2.6%, to 4,119.80
