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Asia stocks rally, GDP data lifts Tokyo; Nikkei jumps 1.13%

Published 02/14/2011, 02:48 AM
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Investing.com – Asian stocks were broadly higher on Monday, amid receding tensions in Egypt after President Hosni Mubarak resigned, while the Nikkei was boosted by better-than-expected Japanese GDP data.  

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 1.28%, South Korea's Kospi Composite rallied 1.89%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.13%.

On Friday, Mr. Mubarak stepped down and handed power to the military, bowing to the demands of protesters who occupied central Cairo for almost three weeks, demanding an end to his 30-year rule.

Meanwhile, preliminary data released earlier in the day showed that Japan’s economy contracted less-than-expected in the fourth quarter, declining by a seasonally adjusted 0.3%, after rising by a revised 0.8% in the preceding quarter, and beating expectations for a decline of 0.5%.

Shares in the world’s largest automaker Toyota climbed 2.52% after it announced plans to cut its board to at least 17 members from the current 27 to improve decision-making after a series of product recalls.

Rival Honda saw shares gain 2.82%, while shares in Nissan added 1.38%.

In Hong Kong, shares in the financial sector performed strongly, tracking gains made by their U.S. counterparts on Friday.

China Construction Bank saw shares climb 1.66%, Bank of China Hong Kong saw shares gain 1.88%, while China’s largest lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China advanced 1.98%.

Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1.12% to close at a 10-month high as resource stocks led gains after metal prices advanced.

Shares in the world’s largest mining group BHP Billiton jumped 1.94%, rival Rio Tinto saw shares gain 1.4%, while shares in platinum producer Aquarius Platinum soared 6.42%.

The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.13%, France’s CAC 40 futures indicated an increase of 0.17%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a rise of 0.11%, while Germany's DAX futures were up 0.21%.

Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on industrial production, while in the U.S., President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, William Dudley was to speak at a public engagement.


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