Asian shares surged Thursday, as investors cheered better-than-expected industrial output data from Japan and an upbeat Wall Street session after the U.S. Federal Reserve said the worst of the recession may be over.
The Nikkei 225 returned from a Wednesday holiday, and went skyward, 334.49 points, or 3.9% to 8,828.26, after March data showed industrial output rose for the first time in six months, by 1.6% from the previous month.
The advance came in spite of a Wall Street Journal report that talks between the U.S. Treasury Department and lenders aimed at keeping Chrysler LLC out of bankruptcy broke down Wednesday, making it all but certain the car maker will file for Chapter 11 protection.
Taiwanese shares outperformed regional markets by far on hopes of improved ties with China, after the Taiwan Supervisory Commission said it would let China's qualified domestic institutional investors apply to invest in the island's stock market.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 564.04 points, or 3.8%, following Wednesday’s 400-point-plus gain, to close at 15,520.99.
Automobile and technology exporters shot higher, with Honda Motor gaining 9.4% and Nissan Motor climbing 9.2%, while Elpida Memory soared 10.6%, amid hopes the rise in industrial production signaled an end to the reduction cycle in inventory level by Japanese companies as global demand slumped. The gains were also aided by a weakened Japanese yen.
Taiwan’s Taiex Index rocketed up 378.51 points, or 6.7%, to 5,992.57, with gains aided by a planned investment by China Mobile in the island's Far EasTone Telecommunications, which boosted sentiment on hopes it could herald several more cross-straits deals with Chinese corporations.
Far EasTone shares jumped by their daily limit of 7%, as did several other Taiwanese stocks. In Hong Kong, shares of China Mobile slipped 0.7%.
Airline stocks were broadly higher in spite of the threat to travel and tourism industries from the disease, with Singapore Airlines adding 3.1% and Korean Air rising 3.4%, while Cathay Pacific advanced 2.2% in Hong Kong.
Financial and commodity stocks rose across the region on the Fed's assessment. Market heavyweight HSBC Holdings soared 6.7% and Jiangxi Copper was up 5.5% in Hong Kong. Elsewhere, Inpex Corp. rose 5.6% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group advanced 5.9% in Tokyo, while BHP Billiton climbed 3.1% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group gained 3.3% in Sydney. KB Financial Group surged 6.1% in Seoul.
The Japanese yen was down amid better appetite for risk, with the U.S. dollar at ¥97.71, from ¥97.42 late in New York and the euro at ¥130.48, from ¥129.10. The euro was at $1.3352 versus the dollar, from $1.3250.
Elsewhere:
China’s Shanghai 300 Composite Index gained 17.56 points, or 0.7%, to 2,622.93
Singapore’s Straits Times Index climbed 70.71 points, or 3.8% to 1,920.28
South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index picked up 30.94, or 2.3% at 1,369.36
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index advanced 40.87 points, or 1.5%, to 2,740.58
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 picked up 85.20 points, or 2.3% at 3,780.50
