Asian markets surged Wednesday, with gains in Tokyo led by financials such as Mizuho Financial Group as well as exporters such as Nintendo Co., while Hong Kong soared on a heavy rush to buy China Mobile and other China-related stocks.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average climbed 372.93 points, an advance of 2.5 percent, to end at 15,499.56. The broader Topix index was up 3 percent at 1,497.71.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 4.9 percent to end at 29,166.01 points, while the broader Hang Seng China Enterprises Index ended 6.8 percent higher at 17,837.13.
Shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China climbed 5.4 percent and personal computer maker Lenovo Group surged 14 percent, while Hong Kong market heavyweight China Mobile added 9.2 percent.
Shares of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing rose 5.5 percent after the Hong Kong bourse operator said its net income more than doubled during the first three quarters of 2007, on strong growth in equities and derivatives trading.
Shares of HSBC Holdings rose 1.2 percent, before it announced a $3.4 billion loan impairment charge in the U.S. at the end of trading in Hong Kong.
In Tokyo, financials paced gains after losing heavily over the past few days, with shares of Mizuho rising 6.3 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group climbing 6.4 percent.
Exporters also advanced, with shares of Nintendo rising 8.1 percent, helped by a weakened yen in the U.S. Tuesday and on hopes of increased demand for its gaming consoles in the run-up to Christmas.
ELSEWHERE:
MUMBAI: India's Sensex jumped 3.5 percent to 19,709.39.
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.1 percent to 1,972.58.
SHANGHAI: The benchmark Shanghai Composite jumped 4.9 percent to 5,412.69.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times Index advanced 1.9 percent to 3,540.53.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.3 percent to 6,598.6.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted index climbed 2.5 percent to 8,942.93.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 index added 0.8 percent to 4,140.65.
with files from other wire services
