Asian stock markets were mostly higher Thursday, tracking a rally in U.S. markets spurred by news that the U.S. economy fared better than expected in the third quarter, as AP reported. Trading was light ahead of Christmas holidays and with Japanese financial markets closed for the emperor's birthday. «Trading is directionless since there are not very many incentives. Turnover is very quiet,» said Samuel Chua, an analyst at KGI Securities in Hong Kong. «People are still concerned about possible tightening of monetary policy,» he said. Nonetheless, most markets tracked Wall Street's surge after the Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 2.6 percent between July and September, up from its earlier estimate of 2.5 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.2 percent to 23,093.26, led by commodities and trading-related companies. Li & Fung climbed 1.2 percent, while oil and gas giant PetroChina added 0.8 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6 percent to 4,896.5 as natural resource companies advanced. Shares of Riversdale Mining Ltd. jumped 2.3 percent after Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. offered $3.9 billion, or $16 per share, to buy its smaller rival. Rio Tinto rose 0.7 percent. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines also gained. New Zealand shares rose despite data showing that the country's economy contracted in the third quarter. Gross domestic product unexpectedly declined 0.2 percent from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi opened higher but fell back later in the morning, losing 0.2 percent to 2,033.40. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.5 percent to 2,862.44. «China's markets are weak because of deep concern that an interest rate hike is in the offiing after the rate for central bank bills rose,» said Peng Yunliang, an analyst at Shanghai Securities in Shanghai. «Banks appear to be pulling back, and that makes investors nervous,» he said. In New York Wednesday, major stock indexes edged up to two-year highs, with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 26.33 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 11,559.49. The broader S&P 500 index rose 4.24, or 0.3 percent, to 1,258.84. Both indexes closed at their highest levels since July 2008. The Nasdaq composite index gained 3.87, or 0.2 percent, to 2,671.48. It was the highest close for the Nasdaq since Dec. 28, 2007. In currencies, the dollar fell to 83.17 yen from 83.55 yen late Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.3112 from $1.3107. Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 9 cents to 90.57 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 66 cents to settle at $90.48 a barrel on Wednesday as the U.S. government reported a drop in the nation's crude stockpiles.
