Asian shares up on Wall St rise, bargain buying
HONG KONG: Asian markets began the day on a high Thursday as dealers picked up undervalued stocks following a recent sell-off while the first gain for the Dow in three days also provided some support.
Tokyo was 1.29 percent higher by the break, Sydney gained 1.10 percent, Hong Kong opened 0.58 percent stronger while Shanghai added 0.72 percent and Seoul jumped 1.23 percent.
"Asian markets are opening stronger, and we expect it to be a risk-on day in the region," Credit Agricole said in a note to clients, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
The rallies followed a Dow gain of 0.31 percent on Wednesday.
Resource firms were among those leading the gains as commodity prices began to rise, with oil rallying after Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley raised their 2012 forecasts for the cost of Brent to $130 a barrel.
The rises also came despite a surprising 600,000-barrel increase in US crude stockpiles in the week to May 20, confounding analyst expectations of a fall.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, gained 36 cents to $101.68 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for the same month was up 30 cents to $115.23.
Crude was also given a fillip by gains in equity markets, which indicated improving sentiment.
The gains came after big losses in recent sessions caused by worries over the European debt crisis and data from China suggesting the world's number two economy was beginning to ease.
In the eurozone the Greek debt crisis continues to unsettle after sharp exchanges between the European Central Bank, which opposes any restructuring of its obligations, and politicians hoping to find some way out of an impasse.
The downgrading of Athens' debt rating by Fitch on Friday, the downgrading of Italy's outlook by Standard & Poor's and rising concern over Spain's economy have also brought the European crisis back into focus.
However, despite the debt woes the euro rose in early trade after Wang Yong, a professor at the People's Bank of China's training institute, said Beijing should expand purchases of eurozone sovereign debt.
He also said China should increase direct investment into Europe. Such moves would help alleviate the global crisis, he added.
The comments sent the euro up to $1.4136 from $1.4083 late Wednesday in New York and to 115.86 yen from 115.40.
The dollar was worth 81.96 yen, up from 81.89 yen in New York.
Shanghai rose after a five-day sell-off caused by economic worries that were magnified by data showing a preliminary HSBC Purchasing Managers Index had slipped to a 10-month low, pointing to a slowdown in manufacturing.
In Tokyo, office equipment and camera maker Ricoh jumped 4.5 percent on a report in the Nikkei business daily that it was planning to sack 10,000 people worldwide as it tries to streamline.
Gold opened in Hong Kong at $1,525.00-$1,526.00 per ounce, up from Wednesday's close of $1,523.00-$1,524.00
HONG KONG: Asian markets began the day on a high Thursday as dealers picked up undervalued stocks following a recent sell-off while the first gain for the Dow in three days also provided some support.
Tokyo was 1.29 percent higher by the break, Sydney gained 1.10 percent, Hong Kong opened 0.58 percent stronger while Shanghai added 0.72 percent and Seoul jumped 1.23 percent.
"Asian markets are opening stronger, and we expect it to be a risk-on day in the region," Credit Agricole said in a note to clients, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
The rallies followed a Dow gain of 0.31 percent on Wednesday.
Resource firms were among those leading the gains as commodity prices began to rise, with oil rallying after Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley raised their 2012 forecasts for the cost of Brent to $130 a barrel.
The rises also came despite a surprising 600,000-barrel increase in US crude stockpiles in the week to May 20, confounding analyst expectations of a fall.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, gained 36 cents to $101.68 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for the same month was up 30 cents to $115.23.
Crude was also given a fillip by gains in equity markets, which indicated improving sentiment.
The gains came after big losses in recent sessions caused by worries over the European debt crisis and data from China suggesting the world's number two economy was beginning to ease.
In the eurozone the Greek debt crisis continues to unsettle after sharp exchanges between the European Central Bank, which opposes any restructuring of its obligations, and politicians hoping to find some way out of an impasse.
The downgrading of Athens' debt rating by Fitch on Friday, the downgrading of Italy's outlook by Standard & Poor's and rising concern over Spain's economy have also brought the European crisis back into focus.
However, despite the debt woes the euro rose in early trade after Wang Yong, a professor at the People's Bank of China's training institute, said Beijing should expand purchases of eurozone sovereign debt.
He also said China should increase direct investment into Europe. Such moves would help alleviate the global crisis, he added.
The comments sent the euro up to $1.4136 from $1.4083 late Wednesday in New York and to 115.86 yen from 115.40.
The dollar was worth 81.96 yen, up from 81.89 yen in New York.
Shanghai rose after a five-day sell-off caused by economic worries that were magnified by data showing a preliminary HSBC Purchasing Managers Index had slipped to a 10-month low, pointing to a slowdown in manufacturing.
In Tokyo, office equipment and camera maker Ricoh jumped 4.5 percent on a report in the Nikkei business daily that it was planning to sack 10,000 people worldwide as it tries to streamline.
Gold opened in Hong Kong at $1,525.00-$1,526.00 per ounce, up from Wednesday's close of $1,523.00-$1,524.00