Asian shares climb ahead of central bank decisions
Associated Press, Tokyo | Mon, 10/04/2010 10:49 AM
A man walks past the electronic stock board of a local bank in Hong Kong, on Monday. Hang Seng index jumped 1.2 percent to 22,618.66, with particular strength seen in the property sector. AP/Vincent Yu
Asian stock markets were higher in early trading Monday, a
day ahead of central bank decisions in Japan and Australia.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was up 0.4 percent at
9,437.81, though the index fluctuated between positive and negative territory
throughout the morning.
The persistently strong yen limited gains as the Bank of
Japan began its two-day policy board meeting. With Japan's economy showing
signs of growing weakness, the central bank is expected to introduce new steps
to ease monetary policy.
Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5 percent to 1,885.41,
and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.9 percent to 4,620.5. Australian banks
advanced amid speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia would raise
interest rates on Tuesday.
Wall Street's higher finish before the weekend also
bolstered sentiment.
The Dow Jones industrial average 0.4 percent to close at
10,829.68. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.4 percent to
1,146.24, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1 percent to 2,370.75.
In currencies, the dollar was trading at 83.55 yen from
83.24 yen late Friday. The euro stood at $1.3755 from $1.3791.
