Asian stocks continued their rally Monday, with Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia all touching record highs, while most other markets rose sharply on fund flows into the region as well as expectations of a fresh interest-rate cut in the U.S.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 ended 1.2 percent to 16,698.08, rising for the second straight day, while the broader Topix index surged as much as 2.1 percent to end at 1,606.49.
The Hang Seng Index soared 3.9 percent to end at an all-time high of 31,586.90 -- its 43rd record close for the year. The 43-issue Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumped 3.3 percent to 20,194.14.
And in Tokyo, Nissan Motor Co. helped set a bullish tone on a better than-expected-earnings report and its tie-up with Indian truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland.
Financials such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group as well as exporters such as Canon Inc. were helped by a higher close on Wall Street at the end of last week.
Hong Kong's shares were boosted by local property issues such as Cheung Kong Holdings as well as positive brokerage views on Chinese banks such as China Construction Bank and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China.
ELSEWHERE:
MUMBAI: The Sensitive index climbed to a record high of 19,991.36 during the session before slipping back to 19,981.53 in afternoon trading for a gain of 3.8 percent.
JAKARTA: Indonesia's Jakarta Composite climbed 1.5 percent to 2,663.52.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's KLSE Composite advanced 0.8 percent to 1,408.80.
SEOUL: The Kospi rose 1.7 percent to end at 2,062.92.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times Index rose 1.3 percent to 3,820.41.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended up 1.4 percent at 6,792.10.
TAIPEI: The Weighted Index closed 1.9 percent higher at 9,809.88.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 slipped 0.3 percent to 4,215.88.
with files from other wire services
