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TOKYO: Asian stocks rose on Monday, with Tokyo hitting the highest
level for almost two months as investors hoped that the US economy
would start to recover this year after a dire 2008.
Investors took their cue from Wall Street, where
shares soared on Friday on expectations that US President-elect
Barack Obama’s massive stimulus plan would help to revive the
recession-hit economy.
Tokyo’s Nikkei-225 index closed 2.07-percent
higher in a half-day of trading, its first of 2009, ending above the
9,000-point level for the first time since November 10.
Elsewhere in early trade, stocks climbed 2
percent in Hong Kong, 1.4 percent in Shanghai, 2.92 percent in
Taipei, 2.06 percent in Seoul and 0.6 percent in Sydney.
“Stocks are gaining support from the stronger
stock market in the United States and expectations of a recovery in
the US economy this year,” said Makoto Sengoku, a market analyst
at Tokai Tokyo Securities.
A weaker yen gave a boost to Japanese exporters,
which have been hit hard by the recent strength of the Japanese
currency, he said.
Dealers said they were also encouraged to buy
shares as fears of a collapse of the US auto industry receded after
the US government approved a financial rescue package in December.
But “there still remain concerns over
corporate profits and the overall economy both in the United States
and in Japan. In the longer term, stock prices may remain
fragile,” Ryuta Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities, said.
Stock markets in the United States, Europe and
much of Asia rose sharply on Friday on hopes for a brighter year
ahead after a horrendous 2008 that saw Wall Street’s Dow Jones
index plunge 33.84 percent, the worst loss since 1931.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 258.30
points, or 2.94 percent, Friday to finish at 9,034.69.
Obama, who takes office on January 20, has
already pledged stepped-up efforts to revive the moribund economy in
the face of the worst global financial crisis since the Great
Depression.
“After a terrible year, it is no surprise to
have a technical rebound, in particular after a strong showing on
Wall Street,” President Securities analyst Johnny Lee said.
But there were worries about how long the New
Year rally would last.
“Looking ahead, there are few clear
market-moving factors which would further push up share prices, in
terms of both economic indicators and corporate earnings,” said
Otsuka at Japan’s Toyo Securities.
-- AFP
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