Asia stocks rise after Dow hits new all-time high
Source: AP
BANGKOK (AP) — The Dow's new all-time high and better economic data from the United States propelled Asian stock markets higher Wednesday.
Markets continued to shrug off a budget impasse in Washington. Automatic government budget cuts took effect Friday after President Barack Obama and Congress failed to reach a budget deal. Economists expect the $85 billion in cuts to hurt U.S. economic growth.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.6 percent to 11,875.51, hitting its highest intraday level since September 2008. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.9 percent to 22,752.41. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3 percent to 2,021.01. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.7 percent to 5,111.60. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and mainland China rose.
Analysts said markets were taking their cues from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, who has overseen a campaign of massive bond-buying to support the world's biggest economy after the 2008 financial crisis. The issuance of bonds has pushed their prices down, steering investors toward stocks. The program known as "quantitative easing" is in its third phase, which is dubbed QE3.
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