Asian equities surge on continued buying support

Japan equities log massive gains, sentiments positive across regional markets

Asian equities surged today on continued buying support as the dollar dropped and Japanese stocks marched higher impressively, lifting the sentiments for equities around the region. Traders are looking beyond the Japanese tragedy now and Libyan worries have also been brushed aside. Yesterday, in its semi-annual East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, the World Bank nudged up its 2011 growth forecasts for the regional economies and said that the big picture was that the fight against inflation would weigh on economies from China to Malaysia. While Japan would suffer short-term economic damage from the disaster earlier this month, its impact on the broader region was likely to be limited, it said in a supplementary note to its report.



The recent losses are seen getting trimmed on these counts for the Asian stocks markets and with Japanese market gaining handsomely today, after a public holiday yesterday, the sentiments were upbeat right from the start. The stock market in Japan closed with sharp gains, as normalcy appears to be returning back to the country after the devastating earthquake, tsunami and radiation leaks from nuclear reactors shook the country. The conditions at the troubled nuclear plants are stable and would only improve as more time passes by, ensuring that the letdown threats are averted. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index clocked a massive gain of 401.57 points, or 4.36% today to close at 9,608.32 points. On the economic front, a report released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan reported that all industry activity in the country expanded 2.9% in January from the previous month, following a 0.3% drop in December. The tertiary industry activity index also edged up by 2.1%.

In Australia, the stocks surged but failed to hold on amid profit selling as a selling spree in crude oil and copper today hurt the resource counters. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index added nominal gain of 0.60 points, or 0.01% to close at 4,643.40 points.

In China, stocks continued to witness steady buying support as the banking counters surged and a persistent knack to hold above the key 2900 points supported the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index. The financial space has been witnessing good buying in the last few days and pushed up the Shanghai Composite Index by 10.03 points or 0.3% to close at 2,919.1 points. The financial sub-index closed up 1.3% as investors snapped up bank shares before earnings announcements begin later this week for the country's biggest banks.

In Mumbai, bargain hunting in index pivotals after three straight days of slide and fall in crude oil prices drove the key benchmark indices higher. The government's move to table the banking sector amendment bill and the Constitution Amendment Bill to facilitate implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) -- a major indirect tax reform, also aided recovery. The market regained vigor in afternoon trade, with the Sensex crossing 18,000 mark. The BSE 30-share Sensex was up 149.25 points or 0.84% to 17,988.30. The index rose 39.75 points at the day's low of 17,878.80 in morning trade.

In other markets, Seoul Composite index in South Korea added 0.51%, Taiwan Weighted index in Taiwan rose 0.48% while the Straits Times index in Singapore moved up 0.64%. In commodities, crude slipped on profit selling today, dropping under $103 per barrel after gaining yesterday. Oil ended with strong gains in the overnight floor trades, adding more than one dollar on weakness in dollar and gains in equities. Gold hit highs above $1430 per ounce but failed to hold on above the same and slid lower.