Singapore: Asian stock markets rose on Thursday as positive economic indicators and the nomination of a pro-stimulus Bank of Japan chief bolstered hopes for faster growth.
Tokyo’s benchmark led gains in regional stocks after the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated Haruhiko Kuroda, currently president of the Asian Development Bank, to head Japan’s central bank. The Nikkei 225 stock average closed at 11,559.36, up 2.7 per cent.
Kuroda is seen as a supporter of Abe’s efforts to overcome Japan’s 20 years of economic stagnation with bolder monetary easing, a weaker yen and bigger government spending.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi ended 1.1 per cent higher at 2,026.49, the highest close since Jan. 2, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2 per cent to 23,020.27. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.3 per cent to 5,104.10. Stocks in mainland China, Singapore and Thailand also rose.
In Tokyo, Kuroda’s nomination and expectations for a weaker yen whetted investor appetite for exporters. Shares of Sony Corp. jumped 3.6 per cent and Toyota Motor Corp. soared 3.5 per cent.
Investors also welcomed a string of improved economic figures from Asia, Europe and the United States that helped to offset concern about Italy’s hung parliament and government spending cuts in the U.S.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said industrial production rose 1 per cent from the month before in January, the second straight monthly increase. The ministry suggested a slump in output had bottomed. On Wednesday, new figures from the U.S. National Association of Realtors showed pending sales rose 4.5 per cent in January, the biggest increase since April 2010.
