Japan, Australia move higher

TOKYO, Japan -- Stocks in Japan, Australia and New Zealand were all higher in early trade Tuesday, as a two-day rally in the U.S. lifted the handful of Asian markets open this week.

The Lunar New Year holidays are in full swing in most of Asia, as investors welcome the Year of the Horse under the Chinese zodiac.

Markets in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, China and Taiwan are among those closed.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 average jumped 218.42 points or 2.25 percent at 9,904.48, while the broader TOPIX index rose 24.76 points or 2.57 percent to 974.34.

Tech issues and banks were stronger, after Monday's national holiday in Japan.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was near record territory, up 3.3 points to 3479.8, after touching 3496 at one point in the morning.

Australia near record

Its record close is 3490.3, set in June last year. A good profit result from leading brewer Foster's helped push the market up. Foster's was trading up 2 percent at A$4.91.

New Zealand's NZSE Top 40 was up just 0.6 points to 2088.7.

In Japan, investors are hoping for guidance on the country's future economic policy ahead of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to Japan later this month.

"Selling looks thin and investors continue to cover their short positions," Minoru Tada, a director at World Nichiei Securities, told Reuters news agency.

"Nothing new came out of the G7 meeting. But the government is now keeping a closer eye on the stock market and investors are taking notice," Tada said, referring to the Group of Seven meeting in Canada over the weekend.

Technology issues were strong across the board following a 3.6 percent jump in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index over the previous two sessions.

Tokyo Electron, Sony up

Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron was up 4 percent at 7,540 yen, while consumer electronics leader Sony added 160 yen or almost 3 percent to 5870 yen.

Banks were also firmer, with Mizuho Holdings up 5.83 percent at 254,000 yen and UFJ up 3.9 percent to 293,000 yen. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group put on 28,000 yen or 3.5 percent to 825,000 yen.

Bush is due to arrive on February 17 and will meet Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi the following day. The fate of Japans shaky financial system is high on their agenda.