Asia-Pacific markets were higher Friday after major Wall Street banks pledged a deposit of $30 billion in First Republic Bank in an attempt to bolster confidence in the banking system. The group of 11 banks, included Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.
In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component closed 0.36% higher at 11,278.04, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.73% to end the day at 3,250.54 after China announced president Xi Jinping will be visiting Russia next week.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.81% in its final hour of trade, leading gains in the region and the Hang Seng Tech jumped 4.59%. Notably, shares of search engine company Baidu surged over 15%.
South Korea’s Kospi was also up 0.75% to end the day at 2,395.79, while the Kosdaq saw a larger gain at 1.97% to finish at 797.39.
Japanese markets were higher with the Nikkei 225 up 1.2% to end at 27,333.79 and the Topix gained 1.15% to finish at 2,392.61.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.42% to close at 6,994.8 with banks seeing minor gains to reverse Thursday’s losses.
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 Index | *NIKKEI | 27333.79 | 323.18 | 1.2 |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | *HSI | 19518.59 | 314.68 | 1.64 |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | *ASX 200 | 6994.8 | 29.3 | 0.42 |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | *SHANGHAI | 3250.55 | 23.65 | 0.73 |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | *KOSPI | 2395.69 | 17.78 | 0.75 |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | *CNBC 100 | 7961.26 | 131.26 | 1.68 |
Overnight in the U.S., stocks rallied in late in the trading day after news of the banking rescue deal, with all three major indexes closing up.
The Nasdaq Composite made the largest gains, advancing 2.48% as investors bought technology stocks on hopes that the crisis could push the Federal Reserve to shift its outlook on monetary policy at its meeting next week.
Source : CNBC
