Asian Markets Rise on News From U.S. Federal Reserve

Source: The New York Times

HONG KONG — Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region began what looked like a relief rally on Wednesday in the wake of reassuring signals from the United States Federal Reserve, which had sparked a bounce on Wall Street in the final hour of trading there Tuesday.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan was 1.9 percent higher by midmorning, while the Kospi in South Korea had gained 2.3 percent, recouping some of the losses suffered during an extraordinarily volatile session the previous day.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 2.9 percent, and the market in New Zealand jumped 3.2 percent. The Taiex in Taiwan was 2.5 percent higher soon after the opening, and in Singapore, where the market had been closed because of a national holiday on Tuesday, the Straits Times index had gained slightly.

The moves came after stocks in the United States surged broadly Tuesday following the Fed’s signal that it would hold short-term interest rates near zero for at least two more years to support the faltering United States economy.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/business/asian-markets-rise-on-news-from-us-federal-reserve.html