Investing.com - Shares in Sydney gained Wednesday on better than expected fourth quarter GDP while Tokyo surged.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 2.26% and the Nikkei 225 gained 4.22% as shares in Asia got a boost from the U.S. and Europe,
Australian GDP data for the fourth quarter showed a gain of 0.6%, better than the 0.4% gain seen quarter-on-quarter and came in at a 3.0% pace year-on-year, beating the 2.9% gain expected.
Earlier in Australia, HIA new home sales for January rose 3.1% month-on-month, compared to a 6.0% gain in the previous month.
On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia held its cash rate at a record low 2%, as expected, and said there was scope for further easing if needed.
In China, the yuan was down against the dollar Wednesday after the People's Bank of China set a weaker fixing at 6.5490 compared with 6.5385.
Share prices rose with the Shanghai Composite up 2.25%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 2.56%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the Financials, Technology and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 2.11% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 2.39%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 2.89%.