Log In | Register
TOKYO — Asian stock markets jumped Wednesday, powered by better-than-expected earnings from chipmaking giant Intel Corp. and Singapore's forecast that its economy will grow a blistering 15 percent this year.
Technology stocks in Asia got a big boost from Intel's after hours report of quarterly earnings and revenue that beat expectations. It also raised its forecasts for the year. The upbeat report and export-reliant Singapore raising its growth forecast for 2010 to range of 13-15 percent from 7-9 percent after a record expansion in the second quarter eased worries that the global recovery is faltering.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average led regional gains, climbing 270.12 points, or 2.8 percent, to 9,807.36 — shrugging off concerns that the ruling party's loss of its upper house majority will slow economic reforms.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.3 percent to 20,694.30 and South Korea's Kospi added 1.5 percent to 1,760.73. Higher metals prices and data showing rising consumer confidence pushed Australia's S&P/ASX 200 up 1.6 percent to 4,450.80.
Tech and semiconductor-related issues were big beneficiaries of Intel's result, with Advantest Corp., a Japanese maker of chip-testing equipment, soaring 5.5 percent. Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. rose 3.1 percent.
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. also triggered buying in Tokyo after the Japanese megabank set the price for its new share offering at 130 yen per share — below Tuesday's closing price. The offering, which could raise about $8.4 billion yen, is among the largest this year in Japan. Mizuho rose nearly 3 percent.
Elsewhere, Singapore's benchmark rose 0.6 percent to 2,947.00 and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.5 percent to 2,486.82. Markets in Taiwan, Indonesia, New Zealand and Malaysia also rose.
In New York Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 1.4 percent to 10,363.02 on investors' hopes for a strong earnings season.
In currencies, the dollar rose to 88.98 yen from 88.85 yen late Tuesday. The euro was little changed at $1.2719 from $1.2718.
Benchmark crude for August delivery was down 9 cents at $77.06 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $2.20 to settle at $77.15 on Tuesday.
