Share prices increase on major markets
Share prices increase on major markets
TOKYO (AFP): Share prices closed slightly higher on the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday as investors were heartened by an overnight rally on Wall Street and the yen's easing against the dollar.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed 133.53 points or 0.7 percent higher at 19,696.74.
The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues on the first section also gained 11.58 points to 1,600.41. Turnover on the major board totaled an estimated 350 million shares, against 223.01 million shares traded in the previous session.
In Hong Kong, stocks came out of a long Easter weekend Tuesday with a lively bounce that hurled the Hang Seng Index up 322.30 points or 3.56 percent to 9,352.21 at noon (0400 GMT).
In Singapore, the blue-chip Straits Times Industrials index gained 54.08 points to close at 2,115.57 points Monday as investors reacted to the recovery on Wall Street.
The broader-based SES All-Singapore index added 10.24 points to finish at 540.25 points.
Turnover was 165.42 million units valued at S$432.59 million (US$273.79 million) compared with Tuesday's 112.86 million units worth $252.56 million.
In Sydney, Australian shares rallied more than two percent in early trade, following strong gains in U.S. equity and bond markets, brokers said.
The market barometer, the All Ordinaries index, reached an early peak of 2,100.4 points, 2.4 percent, or 50.4 points above Tuesday's finish.
Stock prices rose in London, Paris and Madrid, in the wake of Wall Street's strong performance on Tuesday.
London issues rocketed up at the opening thanks to the good Wall Street news, but the rally lost some steam on what the market considered a disappointing reduction of the German Bundesbank's securities repurchase rate -- cut by 0.03 percent to 5.73 percent for a 14-day repo agreement.
In London the Footsie index was up 25.3 points or 0.8 percent by comparison with the Tuesday close.
The Paris Bourse was also strong, confirming the rally that got under way late in the Tuesday session. The CAC 40 index was up by a hefty 1.01 percent at yesterday's opening, and later in the morning was ahead 1.45 percent at 2,131.02 points.
In New York, after nearly a week and a half on the slide, blue chip shares bounced back with a vengeance Tuesday, buoyed by a drop in long-term bond yields.
The Dow Jones index of 30 leading industrials jumped 82.06 points (2.3 percent) to end at 3,675.41. It was the Dow's strongest surge since Dec. 23, 1991.
On the broader New York Stock Exchange, trading was very heavy with 366 million shares changing hands.