Asian Stocks Buoyed By U.S. Promise On Bank Support

Asian markets gained on Wednesday amidst global bullish sentiment that followed renewed assurances from the U.S. government on support amidst the banking crisis. Markets in the meanwhile are expecting the Fed to settle for a 25-basis point rate hike later in the day.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to 3,265.75. The day’s trading ranged between 3,255.74 and 3,279.39. The Shenzhen Component Index gained 69.68 points or 0.6 percent to close at 11,497.10.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 Index surged 520.94 points or 1.9 percent to end trading at 27,466.61. The day’s trading range was between 27,267.26 and 27,520.97.

Ebara Corp. and Rakuten Inc. topped with rallies in excess of 5 percent. TDK Corp., Daiwa Securities Group as well as Nomura Holdings, added more than 4 percent. The 0.7 percent decline by Mitsubishi Estate Co. was the most for any scrip in the index.

The Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange advanced 332.67 points or 1.7 percent from the previous close to finish trading at 19,591.43. The day’s trading range was between a high of 19,775.69 and a low of 19,428.36.

The Korean Stock Exchange’s Kospi Index added 28.61 points or 1.2 percent to close trading at 2,416.96. The day’s trading range was between 2,402.78 and 2,417.47.

Australia’s S&P/ASX200 Index closed trading at 7,015.60 after gaining 60.20 points or 0.9 percent. The day’s trading was between 6,955.40 and 7,032.00.

Energy businesses New Hope Corporation and Woodside Energy Group gained more than 5 percent. Beach Energy followed with a 4.7 percent spike. Media and entertainment business Domain Holdings Australia added 4.3 percent. Magellan Financial Group gained 3.9 percent.

Materials businesses bore the brunt of the selling pressure on Wednesday. Silver Lake Resources and Regis Resources both dropped more than 5 percent. Perseus Mining and Gold Road resources followed with a decline or more than 4 percent. Core Lithium shed more than 3 percent.

The NZX 50 Index of the New Zealand Stock Exchange added 55.64 points or 0.5 percent to close at 11,586.93. Trading ranged between 11,531.30 and 11,590.13.

Restaurant Brands NZ topped the list of gainers with a 4.8 percent rally. Healthcare business EBOS Group, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and KMD brands all gained more than 2 percent. Air New Zealand also added close to 2 percent.

Software business Serko dropped 5.6 percent followed by Fonterra Shareholders Fund, which shed 4.2 percent. Utilities business Genesis Energy, agribusiness Scales Corporation and Synlait Milk all lost more than 3 percent.

Wall Street had closed on a strong note on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.6 percent to close at 11,860.11 whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.0 percent to finish trading at 32,560.60.

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