Markets | Asian stocks surge, buoyed by Wall Street rally, China trade

Asian stocks surged in morning trading yesterday in a second day of solid gains, buoyed by a rally on Wall Street and European markets, and an uptick in China’s trade.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 2.5 percent to 16,788.28. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.8 percent to 21,326.90 while the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.3 percent at 3,076.16. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8 percent to 5,168.60. South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 1.2 percent to 2,004.08.
WALL STREET: U.S. stocks climbed Wednesday as quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S., lifted financial stocks. Industrial stocks and tech stocks rose on reports that exports from China grew 11.5 percent in March compared with a year earlier. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 187.03 points, or 1.1 percent, to 17,908.28. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 20.70 points, or 1 percent, to 2,082.42. The Nasdaq composite index advanced 75.33 points, or 1.6 percent, to 4,947.42.
THE QUOTE: “Overnight action confirms that China trade data released yesterday is a game changer,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. “Strong continuations of commodity and US share rallies, and a melt-up on continental bourses, have futures traders expecting further strength in Asia Pacific shares in trading today.”
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 44 cents to USD41.32 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 41 cents to $41.76 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 50 cents to $43.68.
CURRENCIES: The euro fell to $1.1268 from $1.1275 on Wednesday. The dollar fell to 109.36 yen from 109.43 yen. AP