Most Asian markets rallied Thursday, with Hong Kong shares rising sharply and Japanese stocks hitting a fresh nine-month high, led by gains in communication and Internet-related stocks, REPORTED AP. Australian and Singaporean stocks also closed at record highs. Investor sentiment was supported by gains Wednesday on Wall Street and suggestions from the U.S. Federal Reserve that the U.S. economy may be stronger than anticipated. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index climbed 136.08 points, or 0.78 percent, to 17,519.50 _ the highest close since April 7, 2006. Stocks opened lower as traders sold securities and bank issues, but rebounded later on the back of gains in communication issues. Traders also took their cue from Wall Street where stocks rose overnight. Softbank and mobile carrier KDDI were among the gainers. KDII jumped 3.75 percent to close at 886,000 yen (US$7,322) after it hiked its earnings forecast for the fiscal year. Softbank Corp. jumped 4.07 percent to 2,940 yen (US$24.30). Other gainers included NTT DoCoMo Inc, which rose 2.17 percent and Isuzu Motors Ltd. climbed 1.32 percent. In Hong Kong, the blue chip Hang Seng Index rose 323.74 points, or 1.6 percent, to finish at 20,430.16, led by property shares after the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates steady at at 5.25 percent. But Hong Kong's H share index, which tracks Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies, fell 0.6 percent to 9,541.97 points, on concern that Beijing could introduce fresh economic cooling measures, including a possible interest rate rise, after the Lunar New year in the middle of this month. China's biggest lender by assets, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, fell 1.8 percent to HK$4.45 and China Life Insurance fell 2 percent to HK$22.35. «The economy in the U.S. is pretty strong so we are seeing buying in domestic Hong Kong banks and property stocks,» said Eric Yuen, head of research at Dao Heng Securities. Sun Hung Kai Property rose 2.2 percent to HK$96.60 and Sino Land rose 3.7 percent to HK$18.18. In currencies, the U.S. dollar bought 120.66 yen late Thursday, down from 120.71 yen late Wednesday in New York. The euro fell to US$1.3025 from US$1.3028. Elsewhere: BANGKOK: Thailand's shares closed higher in tandem with gains in Wall Street and most regional bourses. The Stock Exchange of Thailand's SET index gained 0.5 percent to end at 657 points. JAKARTA: Indonesia shares rose, on rate cut hopes. The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index gained 0.8 percent to close at 1,771.33. KUALA LUMPUR: Financial markets in Malaysia are closed for holiday. MANILA: Philippine shares rose for a fourth day after the government posted its narrowest budget deficit in eight years. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 5.99 points, or 0.2 percent, at 3,245.26. SEOUL: South Korean shares rose in line with Wall Street and regional markets, buoyed by an upbeat Federal Reserve that left a key U.S. interest rate unchanged. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 22.67 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1,382.90. SHANGHAI: China shares ended mixed, as bargain hunting offset concerns that regulators may take measures to cool high stock prices. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.03 percent to 2,785.43. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.6 percent to 659.33. SINGAPORE: Singapore shares rose to a new closing high, in line with other regional indices after the U.S. Federal Reserve suggested that economic growth is firmer than many anticipated, which sparked a rally on Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 42.5 points, or 1.4 percent, to 3,168.1, with bank and property shares leading gains. SYDNEY: Australian stocks reached record highs as rising U.S. markets and commodity prices provided a warm welcome to what is tipped to be another strong February company reporting season. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 40.7 points, or 0.7 percent, to a record 5,814.1. TAIPEI: Taiwan shares finished nearly flat as late profit-taking in paper stocks offset an early rise powered by the tourism sector. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 1.9 point to 7,701.54. WELLINGTON: New Zealand's shares closed lower with the benchmark NZX-50 Index losing 8.77 points, or 0.21 percent, to 4,144.20.
