Asian stocks end mostly higher

However, the boost given by the quantitative easing talks by the Fed seems to slightly evaporate

Asian markets ended mostly higher today though the boost given by the quantitative easing talks by the Fed seemed to slightly evaporate in the late session trades. Select indices came off their highs but all in all it turned out to be decent day for the stocks in the region following the sharp upward surge in the US stocks in overnight trades and persistent drop in the value of the US dollar. US stocks rallied to fresh five-month highs yesterday on strong quarterly results and unrelenting risk appetite. The Dow added 75.68 points or 0.7% to 11,096.08.



The Japanese stocks rallied on strong US cues and the wave of continued buoyancy in the risky assets even as the Japanese Yen struck fresh 15-year highs against the US dollar. Market witnessed gains across the sectors, led by commodity-linked stocks such as oil & coal products, mining, nonferrous metals, and iron & steel makers as investors seek higher yielding assets. Strong bid also noticed among real estate, construction, securities & commodities futures, marine transportation, and bank sectors. By the close, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average index advanced 171.27 points, or 1.82%, at 9,574.78. Market breadths were bullish with 204 companies advances, 14 declines, and remaining 7 unchanged in the Nikkei225.

The Australian stocks closed in positive territory with sharp gains led by resource and bank stocks following positive cues from Wall Street where the major averages rose to a fresh five-month high on optimism about Federal Reserve's announcement of quantitative measures to support the economy. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index added 79.20 points, or 1.71% to close at 4,699 points, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,766, representing a gain of 74.80 points, or 1.59%.

Chinese stocks ended mixed after sharp gains in the last few days. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index still rose for the sixth consecutive day, adding 18.28 points or 0.64% to close at 2,879.64.

In Mumbai, fresh selling in index pivotals dragged the key benchmark indices to the day's low in late trade. European stocks also came off initial highs. The market breadth was weak, in contrast with a strong breadth at the onset of the trading session. As per provisional closing, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 210.77 points or 1.02% to 20,477.11. Following a recent surge, the BSE Sensex is within a striking distance to its record high of 21,206.77 hit on 10 January 2008.

In other markets, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong added 1.68%, the Straits Times index in Singapore dropped 0.22% while the TSEC index in Taiwan soared 1.34%. The Dollar dropped above 1.4110 levels against the Euro and commodities added to their recent array of gains with crude oil hitting around $84 while gold rallied to a fresh high near $1380.