U.S. Federal Reserve Decision Bolsters Tokyo and Singapore
May 03, 2011
The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to leave key short-term interest rates unchanged boosted shares in Japan, Singapore and the Philippines, while in Australian shares surged after Standard & Poor's upgraded Australia's foreign currency rating. Shares in Hong Kong advanced as overseas investors bought blue chips. Taiwan stocks surged after China said it would open its ports to commercial and passenger ships traveling from the island. South Korean shares fell for the seventh-straight day on pessimism in the market's long-term outlook. In Malaysia, the nation's largest commercial bank, Malayan Banking, posted better-than-expected earnings. Meanwhile, stocks in Indonesia and Thailand also gained. In dollar terms, Dow Jones China 88 Index rose 2.88 to 98.17 Wednesday, after falling 2.60 a day earlier. The Dow Jones Shanghai Index climbed 1.91 to 105.49, following Tuesday's loss of 1.97. The Dow Jones Shenzhen Index gained rose 4.79 to 106.04, after slipping 4.28 the previous day. The Asia-Pacific sector of the Dow Jones World Stock Index rose 0.98 to 118.16, bouncing back from Tuesday's 0.27 slide. The world as a whole gained 0.23 to 139.40, adding to the prior day's gain of 0.06. Biotechnology and fishing shares led industry groups on the Dow Jones Global Industry Groups, while tobacco and savings-and-loan issues were among the laggers. Asian Stock Market Indexes Market Australia
