Asian indexes turned sharply higher Wednesday, relieved by the Federal Reserve's rate cut and better-than-expected profit reports from U.S. investment banks, but they ended below the day's peaks as investors were cautious about the rally's prospects.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 2.5 percent to close at 12260.44 after rising more than 3 percent earlier. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 2.4 percent at 21,895.27.
In Tokyo, shares of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. gained 3.7%. The drug maker was in advanced talks to buy out Abbott Laboratories' stake in their 50-50 joint venture, TAP Pharmaceutical Productions Inc., according to a Nikkei business daily report.
Exporters also advanced in the wake of the surge on Wall Street, with Toyota Motor Corp. climbing 3.9% and Nikon Corp. soaring 5.1%. Both stocks, however, came off their highs as the U.S. dollar gave up its early gains against the Japanese currency.
On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite index rebounded after five days of losses, climbing 3.6 percent to 3,799.01. Investors seemed to be unfazed by the central bank's move to increase credit requirements for commercial banks by half a percentage point to a record high 15.5 percent.
Elsewhere in the region:
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 soared 4% to 5,289.10.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index added 1.4% to 3,467.26.
South Korea's Kospi climbed 2.1% to 1,622.23.
Taiwan's Weighted index rose 1.5% to 8,179.35.
with files from other wire services
