By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks rallied Friday, cheering
a rebound on Wall Street and upbeat German manufacturing data, with
Japanese shares leading the charge on the back of a weakened
yen.
Among the major indexes, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped
2.5%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1%, and South Korea's
Kospi added 0.6%.
The strong advance in Tokyo came as the U.S. dollar (USDJPY)
climbed toward the Yen99-level and after a Reuters survey showed
local manufacturers' optimism rose to the highest level in three
years.
The advances also followed a higher finish for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI), which snapped a six-day losing streak
overnight after a monthly average of jobless claims fell to a more
than five-year low in the U.S. and as manufacturing Purchasing
Managers' Index readings from China and Germany indicated
expansion.
"The fact that the U.S. and European recoveries are improving
(albeit fractionally) is a good foundation for global markets, but
investors firstly have to get through the removal of the price
distortions that quantitative easing created," said Perpetual
investment market-research chief Matthew Sherwood.
Stock gains in Tokyo were spread across sectors, with Yamaha
Motor Co. (7272.TO) climbing 4.8%, Citizen Holdings Co. gaining
5.1%, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KWHIF) adding 5.2%, Sumitomo
Metal Mining Co. advancing 4.5% and banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial Group Inc. (MTU) rising 2.4%.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMTOY) advanced 4.6% after the Nikkei
newspaper reported it planned to build an automobile plant in the
Philippines by around 2015.
In Sydney, mining major Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) rose 1.3%, while
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FSUMY) jumped 4%, extending its
post-earnings advance from Thursday.
A more-than-1% climb for Nymex crude futures overnight aided the
region's energy producers. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WOPEY) gained
1.5%, and WorleyParsons Ltd. (WOR.AU) added 3.1% in Sydney, while
Inpex Corp. (IPXHF) climbed 1.9% in Tokyo.
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