Japanese stocks rallied Thursday to lead Asian markets higher, with machinery maker such as Komatsu and exporters such as Canon Inc. pacing gains on the country's surprisingly robust economic growth and a continued advance on Wall Street.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index surged nearly 560 points, or 4.3 per cent, to close at 13,626.5, its biggest percentage gain since March 2002. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index jumped 3.7 per cent to settle at 24,021.7.
In Tokyo, consumer finance companies led the market. Acom Co. surged 8.1 per cent, while Promise Co. jumped 7.9 per cent.
Semiconductor shares rallied on rises in U.S. high-tech shares. Advantest Corp. surged 11.6 per cent, Elpida Memory soared 8.2 per cent and Tokyo Electron rose 6.2 per cent.
Elsewhere:
India's Sensitive index jumped 4.2% to 17,669.02 by late afternoon, adding to Wednesday's advance, which followed five straight days of losses.
Singapore's Straits Times Index climbed 2.8% to 3,031.04 in line with the region-wide trend.
China's Shanghai Composite added 1.4% at 4,552.32.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 2.6% to 5,684.80.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index inched up 0.1% to 3,550.41.
South Korea's Kospi jumped 4% to 1,697.45.
Taiwan's Weighted Index soared 4.2% to 7,865.28.
with files from other wire services
