Asian stocks rally, close higher

Japan's market closed higher Tuesday, with the Nikkei index rebounding more than 300 points at one stage during the day

By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Asian markets moved forward with strong gains on Tuesday, as central banks worldwide cut rates to spur investing.

But later closing markets showed signs of fading, as trading started to losses in Europe.

The gains in Asia followed the 7 percent decline overnight on Wall Street, which came within market expectations.

Last week's terrorist attacks had kept U.S. stock markets closed for four days.

Just before Wall Street re-opened Monday, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank cut rates in a bid to boost investor confidence.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei index finished up 1.85 percent at 9,679.88.

The central Bank of Japan was meeting Tuesday, facing pressure to do more to help the world's second-largest economy.

It cut its planned two-day session back to a day after U.S. losses proved better than expected.

The broader Topix index, which isn't as tech-heavy as the Nikkei, rose 1.7 percent to 1,013.09.

Elsewhere in the region, markets in South Korea, Australia and New Zealand finished higher. India was trading stronger after Monday's sharp decline.

But Hong Kong stocks gave back their morning rise to close with losses. Singapore also closed a little softer.

Stocks slid to three-year lows in the United States Monday after the markets' four-day hiatus.

Patriotic buying not there

The patriotic buying some investors had hoped and called for didn't happen.

But the Dow Jones industrial average's 7.1 percent decline, and a similar 6.8 percent drop on Nasdaq, wasn't as bad as expected.

With the U.S. Fed, the European Central Bank and other banks cutting interest rates a half point, that gave Asian markets the nudge to move forward. Most had gains of at least 1.5 percent.

Japan's gains were fired by a strong showing from the country's largest cell-phone provider, NTT DoCoMo.

It has fared well in the aftermath of the U.S. attacks. On Tuesday, it rose 6.5 percent to 1.47 million yen.

Sony Corp., which typically leads the way for technology stocks but has suffered due to its large bent toward exports, bounced back 1.2 percent to 4,260 yen.

Electronics- and chipmaker Hitachi gained even more, its stock ending up 1.9 percent at 803 yen.

Some airlines clawed back from heavy losses after the American attacks. Japan Airlines rose 2.9 percent to 320 yen.

The writeoff of bankrupt Mycal Corp. continues to plague the world's biggest bank group. Mizuho Holdings gave up 0.6 percent to 475,000 yen.

Japan's car makers continued to drift on fears their exports will suffer. Honda was down 2.1 percent to 3,770 yen. Nissan and Toyota were also weaker.

Kospi up strongly

South Korea's Kospi closed strongly, up 3.45 percent at 484.93. Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor were among the gainers.

Australia's S&P/ASX200 ended up 1.85 percent at 3,010.1. The market pulled back during the day.

The Reserve Bank of Australia disappointed traders by failing to come through with a rate cut on Tuesday. Investors were waiting for the explanation from the RBA governor later Tuesday and have already priced in a half-point cut.

Telstra, Australia's largest telecom, propped Sydney stocks with a 2.6 gain to A$5.02. Telecoms around the world have fared well after the attacks in the United States.

Bluechip banks also did well. Media heavyweight News Corp. lost 1 cent to A$12.40 after posting gains most of the day.

New Zealand's benchmark NZSE-40 Capital index rose 2.2 percent to 1,830.

Telecom New Zealand rose 1.4 percent to NZ$4.50.

Taiwan's market was closed due to Tropical Storm Nari, which had claimed 36 lives on the island as of last count.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed with a 0.1 percent drop, at 9,307.90. It had risen as much as 3 percent during the day.

Airline stocks fell, with China Southern and China Eastern -- two of the mainland carriers -- giving ground. Southern dropped 6.7 percent to HK$1.40. Eastern ended down 4.4 percent at HK$0.66.

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's largest airline, fell 3.2 percent to HK$6.05. Its shares are down 27 percent since the U.S. attacks.

China Mobile, the mainland's largest cell-phone company, rose 1.6 percent.

Singapore stocks closed at a 31-month low, with a mild loss. The Straits Times index finished at 1,324.30, off 0.8 percent.

It had risen as much as 2 percent during the day.

Banks were particularly had hit by global worries, with Southeast Asia's biggest bank, DBS Group, falling 5.3 percent to S$10.70.

Singapore Airlines rose 1.2 percent to S$8.30, after a beating Monday.

In India, the benchmark index was up 3.8 percent in afternoon trade.

Reuters contributed to this report.