Japan led a rally in Asian stocks Friday, extending a global market rebound fuelled by the prospect of more stimulus from the European Central Bank and a bounce in battered oil prices.
Japan's Nikkei 225 soared 5.3 per cent to 16,863.76 on hopes the Bank of Japan would join Europe in promising further monetary stimulus.
South Korea's Kospi gained 1.6 per cent to 1,870.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 2.2 per cent to 18,945.08 and the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China climbed 0.4 per cent to 2,891.23. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1 per cent to 4,913.70.
European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi cheered investors by saying the bank is prepared to take action as early as its next meeting in March to expand existing stimulus efforts.
While the ECB left key interest rates and its 1.5-trillion-euro monetary stimulus program unchanged Thursday, Draghi underscored his willingness to ramp up the program if plummeting oil prices and market turmoil threaten the continent's weak economy.
In Europe, major stock indices were higher. Germany's Dax index was up 1.8 per cent, while England's FTSE 100 was up almost 1 per cent, and France's CAC 40 was up by almost 3 per cent.
"It's been another volatile week in financial markets as investors continue to fret about the global growth outlook," Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Management in Sydney, said in a report.
"Share markets remained under pressure but managed to rally off their lows helped by strong signs of further monetary easing from the ECB," he said. "It's still too early to say that shares have bottomed, but given increasing pessimism, indications that shares are oversold and more dovish central banks, there is a good chance we will see at least a short-term bounce."
Crude futures extended gains after bouncing back from their worst day in four months. U.S. benchmark crude rose 66 cents US to $30.18 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.18, or 4.2 per cent, to close at $29.53 a barrel Thursday. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, rose 95 cents to $30.19 a barrel in London.
The energy-laden TSX was buoyed by oil's Thursday rebound, with the S&P/TSX composite index up 192 points to 12,035 points at the close of the trading day.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.44 of a cent at 70.50 cents US on Friday, a day after it gained more than a cent.
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét