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Asian stocks surge to strong close
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks powered to a strong close on Friday, with Japan climbing off its 19-year lows. The Nikkei 225 average ended the day up 2.41 percent at 8,503.59, after two straight days of testing that low-water mark. The Topix also finished strongly, up 1.88 percent at 839.34 as bank stocks saw some relief from heavy selling. But UFJ Holdings, the weakest of the Big Four banks, fell again, off 6.25 percent to another record low of 108,000 yen. There were gains throughout the region, with South Korea and Taiwan both up more than 3 percent. Singapore closed up 1.70 percent, Australia put on 1.44 percent and Hong Kong had a gain of 1.28 percent. U.S. markets had their strongest gains in a month on Thursday, with Nasdaq racing ahead 3.69 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average climbing 1.71 percent to 8,542.13. (U.S. roundup) Retail sales drive Tokyo exportersIn Tokyo, electronics and auto stocks rose on data reaffirming faith in consumer demand in the United States, their main export market. The yen also helped, trading slightly weaker at 120.72. The dollar is gaining as war fears ease and after Thursday data showed U.S. retail sales rose more than expected.
Consumer electronics industry leader Sony gained 4.04 percent to 5,150 yen, and carmaker Honda Motor added 4.5 percent to 4,400 yen. Mobile-phone leader NTT DoCoMo put on 2.7 percent to 227,000 yen, driving parent NTT up 2.64 percent to 466,000 yen. Bank stocks breathed easier after Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka said there is not an immediate crisis among the major banks. (Full story) That refutes a report that one of the Big Four was to be nationalized next month, which sent bank stocks crashing on Thursday. Mizuho Holdings jumped a hefty 9.8 percent to 134,000 yen, while Sumitomo Mitsui rose 1.38 percent to 367 yen. The weakest of the Big Four banks, UFJ Holdings, touched 97,000 yen before resetting its record closing low at 108,000 yen. According to a report, it will speed up attempts to settle its debt problems by writing off 2 trillion ($16.6 billion) in bad loans by next March. Australia jumps aheadAustralia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.44 percent to 3,004.9, a relatively large move for the index. News Corp. added 5.9 to A$11.49, propelled by U.S. stock gains. Resources stocks BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto added 4 percent and 3 percent respectively. Insurer and funds manager AMP also added to Thursday's gains, rising 3.82 percent to A$12.50 after it announced almost 1,200 job cuts in a restructuring. (Full story) But Telstra Corp. fell 0.44 percent to A$4.57, after the telecom told investors it is still looking at flat profits and sales for the year. It also identified its Reach venture with Hong Kong's PCCW as a big challenge. (Full story) New Zealand's Top 40 closed up 0.11 percent to 1,957.41, restrained by a 1.24 percent fall in Telecom New Zealand, which dominates the market. Hong Kong property up again
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.28 percent to 9,865.65. Property stocks such as Sun Hung Kai Properties, Sino Land, Henderson Land and Cheung Kong Holdings were all higher, boosted for a second day by the government's plans to spur prices. (Full story) The market's largest listing, bank stock HSBC, fell 1.14 percent to HK$86.75 after announcing it will pay around $14 billion to buy U.S. lender Household International Inc., which specializes in lending to customers with troubled credit. (Full story) Initial public offering China Telecom made an unimpressive debut, ending down 2.04 percent at HK$1.44. It closed down 5 percent on its first day of trading in New York on Thursday, despite slashing the size of its stock sale. (Full story) Mainland cell-phone play China Unicom rose 6.31 percent to HK$5.90, on word it plans to buy back nine networks from its parent for about $2.75 billion. (Full story) Rival China Mobile went into the weekend up 3.89 percent at HK$20.20. Taiwan, Korea strongest in AsiaIn Taiwan, the Taiex powered ahead 3.17 percent to 4,813.53. Au Optronics, the world's third-largest maker of plasma TV screens, jumped 6.64 percent to T$25.70. Chip foundry TSMC was firmly ahead, up 4.3 percent to T$48.40, with rival UMC also stronger, up 3.9 percent to T$26.50. South Korea's Kospi also surged to top the Asian gains, up 3.19 percent to 672.95. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 5.3 percent to 358,000 won. But rival Hynix fell 7.7 percent to 420 won after disappointing earnings. (Full story) SK Telecom was another big gainer, up 5.68 percent to 242,000 won, with fixed-line telecom KT Corp. ahead 6.38 percent to 52,500 won. In Singapore, the Straits Times index closed up 1.70 percent to 1,414.85, making good ground in the last hour. Creative Technologies was among the top gainers, up 2.33 percent to S$13.20, while SingTel locked in a 6.02 percent run to S$1.41 as it bought back shares.
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