Investing.com – Asian stock markets rose for the first time this week on Wednesday, as investors entered the market for bargain hunting on speculation selloffs since Japan’s devastating earthquake had been excessive.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.21%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.65%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 5.7%.
Earlier in the day, the president of the Tokyo Stock Exchange appealed for calm after Japanese stocks suffered their biggest two-day decline since 1987 as the country battled to prevent a nuclear catastrophe.
Risk sentiment was also boosted after the Bank of Japan pumped cash into markets for a third day in a row, bringing its total liquidity injection to JPY55.6 trillion yen since Monday.
The world’s largest automaker Toyota saw shares surge 9.15%, its biggest one-day advance in two years, after it said it would reopen seven factories in central Japan from tomorrow morning.
Shares in rival Honda jumped 3.9%, while Nissan saw shares gain 6.2%.
Shares in the financial sector were broadly higher, with the nation’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group climbing 4.4%, while Mizuho Financial Group rallied 5.4%, after dropping nearly 20% in the past two sessions.
Meanwhile, shares in consumer electronics giant Sony soared 8.9%, while rival Panasonic saw shares jump 7.4%
Also Wednesday, shares in Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the crippled Fukushima power plant added 0.3%, after plunging more than 50% this week.
Elsewhere, in Australia, the world’s largest mining group BHP Billiton climbed 1.4%, Rio Tinto surged 2%., while the nation’s largest uranium producer Paladin Energy saw shares rally 13.5%, after dropping almost 34% in the past two days.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures indicated a gain of 0.94%, France’s CAC 40 futures pointed to a rise of 0.32%, the FTSE 100 futures indicated an increase of 0.42%, while Germany’s DAX futures pointed to a gain of 1.09%.
Later in the U.S. was to publish a flurry of data, with reports on building permits as well as data on producer price inflation, housing starts and crude oil stockpiles.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.21%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.65%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 5.7%.
Earlier in the day, the president of the Tokyo Stock Exchange appealed for calm after Japanese stocks suffered their biggest two-day decline since 1987 as the country battled to prevent a nuclear catastrophe.
Risk sentiment was also boosted after the Bank of Japan pumped cash into markets for a third day in a row, bringing its total liquidity injection to JPY55.6 trillion yen since Monday.
The world’s largest automaker Toyota saw shares surge 9.15%, its biggest one-day advance in two years, after it said it would reopen seven factories in central Japan from tomorrow morning.
Shares in rival Honda jumped 3.9%, while Nissan saw shares gain 6.2%.
Shares in the financial sector were broadly higher, with the nation’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group climbing 4.4%, while Mizuho Financial Group rallied 5.4%, after dropping nearly 20% in the past two sessions.
Meanwhile, shares in consumer electronics giant Sony soared 8.9%, while rival Panasonic saw shares jump 7.4%
Also Wednesday, shares in Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the crippled Fukushima power plant added 0.3%, after plunging more than 50% this week.
Elsewhere, in Australia, the world’s largest mining group BHP Billiton climbed 1.4%, Rio Tinto surged 2%., while the nation’s largest uranium producer Paladin Energy saw shares rally 13.5%, after dropping almost 34% in the past two days.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures indicated a gain of 0.94%, France’s CAC 40 futures pointed to a rise of 0.32%, the FTSE 100 futures indicated an increase of 0.42%, while Germany’s DAX futures pointed to a gain of 1.09%.
Later in the U.S. was to publish a flurry of data, with reports on building permits as well as data on producer price inflation, housing starts and crude oil stockpiles.