Asian shares broadly up after Wall St. rally

A man walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, March 20, 2014. Asian stocks inched down Thursday after comments from the new head of the Federal Reserve suggested U.S. interest rates could rise sooner than financial markets were anticipating. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

HONG KONG—Asian markets mostly rose Wednesday following a rally on Wall Street as dealers welcomed a better-than-expected jump in US consumer confidence to a six-year high, while there was muted response to a missile test by North Korea.

The euro eased slightly after the European Central Bank suggested it would be willing to further loosen monetary policy as it grapples with low inflation.

Tokyo added 0.37 percent, or 53.97 points, to finish at 14,477.16, buoyed by investors picking up stocks to lock in dividends before the new tax year starts in April.

Sydney gained 0.75 percent, or 40.2 points, to 5,376.8 and Seoul rose 1.19 percent, or 23.06 points, to 1,964.31.

Hong Kong gained 0.72 percent, or 155.43 points, to 21,887.75.

However, Shanghai slipped 0.18 percent, or 3.64 points, to 2,063.67.

The three main indexes in New York enjoyed a rally on Tuesday, capping a two-session losing streak, after a closely watched confidence survey showed confidence among American consumers surging.

The Conference Board’s index for March confidence came in at 82.3—its highest since January 2008—from 78.3 in February and far better than the 78.9 expected.

The Dow rose 0.56 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.44 percent and Nasdaq added 0.19 percent.

Asian traders seemed unmoved by news that North Korea test-fired two medium-range missiles early Wednesday, as US President Barack Obama hosted a landmark Japan-South Korea summit.

South Korea’s defense ministry said the missiles flew 650 kilometers (400 miles) into the Sea of Japan (East Sea), upping the ante after a series of short-range missile and rocket launches by the North in recent weeks.

However, while Washington condemned the tests as “troubling and provocative,” regional markets maintained their uptrend.

ECB ready for inflation battle 

In foreign exchange dealing the euro dipped after ECB president Mario Draghi said the bank would do what is needed to maintain price stability as weak price rises have fuelled fears of deflation in the eurozone.

“If any downside risks to (our inflation) scenario appear, we stand ready to take additional monetary policy measures that ensure our mandate is fulfilled,” he said.

ECB governing council member Josef Makuch, the Slovak central bank chief, echoed the sentiment, possibly pointing to a US-style quantitative easing program to hold rates low, or even, some speculate, taking interest rates negative.

ECB policy makers “are ready to adopt non-standard measures to prevent slipping into a deflationary environment”, Makuch said.

The euro fetched $1.3818 in afternoon Tokyo trade, against $1.3825 late Tuesday in New York, and sharply lower than the $1.3840 in Asia on Tuesday before the comments. It also sat at 141.34 yen, compared with 141.36 yen.

The dollar edged up to 102.29 yen from 102.25 yen in New York.

On oil markets New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for May delivery, was up six cents at $99.25 a barrel in afternoon trade, and Brent crude for May climbed 10 cents to $107.09.

Gold fetched $1,314.55 an ounce at 1050 GMT compared with $1,313.10 late Tuesday.

In other markets:

— Singapore jumped 1.26 percent, or 39.15 points, to 3,143.32.

DBS bank advanced 0.94 percent to Sg$16.19 and Singapore Telecom gained 1.12 percent to Sg$3.61.

— Bangkok added 0.47 percent, or 6.43 points, to 1,360.44.

Airports of Thailand gained 1.84 percent to 194 baht, while telecoms company Advanced Info Service rose 1.33 percent to 228 baht.

— Jakarta ended up 0.53 percent, or 25.15 points, at 4,728.24.

Palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari rose 1.91 percent to 25,400 rupiah, while cement maker Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa lost 0.10 percent to 24,200 rupiah.

— Kuala Lumpur’s main stock index inched up 0.11 percent, or 1.97 points, to 1,839.14.

RHB Capital gained 0.7 percent to 8.35 ringgit, while Telekom Malaysia added 1.5 percent to 6.20. Palm oil giant Sime Darby slipped 0.2 percent to 9.25 ringgit.

— Mumbai rose 0.18 percent, or 40.09 points, to end at 22,095.30 points. Ashok Leyland rose 11.36 percent to 22.55 rupees and Oberoi Realty gained 9.69 percent to 217.95 rupees per share.

— Taipei rose 0.55 percent, or 47.97 points, to 8,737.27.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. jumped 1.76 percent to Tw$115.5 while Hon Hai was 0.35 percent higher at Tw$86.0.

— Wellington eased 0.11 percent, or 5.81 points, to 5,124.88.

Air New Zealand was up 1.58 percent at NZ$1.92 while Contact Energy fell 1.13 percent to NZ$5.23.

— Manila ended 0.19 percent higher, adding 12.16 points to 6,348.50.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. rose 1.43 percent to 566 pesos, while Philippine Long Distance Telephone inched down 0.07 percent to 2,702 pesos.