Tokyo takes Asia to higher close


Taiwan's market put on more than 3% Wednesday, second only to Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Asian stocks staged a strong rally Wednesday, buoyed by Wall Street's rebound. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed more than 3.5 percent higher.

Markets across the region surged, driven higher by techs and bluechips. Australia's S&P/ASX200 added 2.2 percent, Taiwan's Taiex put on 3.25 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose about 2.8 percent.

In Seoul, the Kospi rose a more modest 0.83 percent to 679.37, a day after the central Bank of Korea left rates on hold.

New Zealand's Top 40 added about 1 percent to 1999.52 and Singapore's Straits Times index is up 1.7 percent to 1491.63 heading towards the close.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added a massive 333.38 points to close at 9834.40 Wednesday. The broader capital-weighted Topix rose 2.43 percent or 22.86 points to 962.28.

Softer yen


Sony and other exporters surged after five down days in Japan

A softer yen encouraged investors back into the market after five days of losses that saw the Nikkei at a six-month closing low of 9501.02 on Tuesday. That in turn was close to February's 18-year low.

Key exporters strengthened. Consumer electronics leader Sony jumped more than 6 percent to 5280 yen and Fujitsu rose 6.1 percent to 660 yen. Canon did even better, surging 7.63 percent to 4230 yen.

Telco NTT jumped 20,000 yen or 4.22 percent to 494,000 yen.

Automakers were also up. Honda put on 5 percent to 4960 yen, Nissan was up almost 4 percent and No. 1 maker Toyota added 4.44 percent to 2940. After the bell it reported strong first-quarter results(Full Story).

Some big banks were also beneficiaries of Japan's rebound. Mizuho led the way, putting on 3 percent to 270,000 yen. But SMBC eased a little, as did Daiwa Bank

Bargain hunters revive Wall Street

Providing much of the drive for Asia's performance Wednesday was the much stronger day on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average bounced 2.9 percent or 230.46 points to close up at 8274.09 Tuesday.

That was its first big gain in more than a week following a three-day, 692-point losing streak.

The Nasdaq composite rose 4.4 percent or 53.54, recovering from a five-year low the previous day(Full U.S. roundup).

A wave of bargain hunting revived New York stocks. On the currency market, the dollar rose against the yen as investors were encouraged to buy back the dollar.

The dollar bought 120.85 yen in late Asian trade, slightly lower than a six-week high of 121.23 yen marked on Tuesday.

Australia leaves rates on hold

n Australia, stocks rallied Wednesday after the central bank left interest rates on hold (Full Story).

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 put on 65.4 points or 2.19 percent to 3051.0.

As expected, the Reserve Bank left the official cash rate at 4.75 percent after Tuesday's monthly board meeting. That came amid warning signs about the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.

Australian bluechips bounced up from Tuesday's year-low. Market heavyweight News Corp rose 5.7 percent to A$9.27 while big banks NAB and CBA jumped 2.6 percent and 4 percent respectively.

Leading telco Testra was up just 0.2 percent to A$4.73.

Rio Tinto, which reached agreement Monday on selling a majority stake in the Indonesian coalmine it jointly operates with BP, jumped 4.6 percent to A$31.57.

BHP Billiton put on 7.1 percent to A$8.89. After the close it reported full year earnings rose more than 10 percent to $1.69 billion.

Singapore Telecommunications, which owns Australia's second-largest telco Optus, rose 3.4 percent to A$1.49 after posting a smaller than expected slide in its first quarter profits.

Samsung jumps

In Seoul, chipmaker Samsung Electronics jumped 4 percent to 312,000 won. Hyundai Motor rose about 1 percent, but mobile phone leader SK Telecom eased just into the red.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.85 percent to 9977.

Cathay Pacific Airways, Asia's fourth biggest airline by capacity, surged 10 percent to HK$11.80. It posted first-half results Wednesday.

Taiwan's Taiex closed 3.25 percent higher to 4720.73 as President Chen Shui-ban backed off from his aggressive weekend "separate country" comments.

Chip foundries TSMC and UMC were strong gainers, up almost 7 percent to T$49.30 and 6.7 percent to T$28.70 respectively.

Reuters contributed to this report.