Asian markets shrugged off negative economic news to rise today, underpinned by continued faith in government measures to boost flagging economies as Congress neared a deal to rescue ailing US car manufacturers.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 264.37 points, or 3.2 percent, to close at 8,660.24 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 789.71 points, or 5.4 percent, to 15,543.68.
Benchmark indexes in Australia, South Korea, India, Shanghai and Singapore also rose. New Zealand's market ended down.
"Certainly, it looks like this is a bear market rally and it could continue for awhile," said Mark Tan of UOB Asset Management in Singapore, referring to recent gains as a temporary respite in an overall market downtrend.
Stocks in Tokyo advanced despite data showing that core machinery orders, a key barometer of corporate capital spending, fell 4.4 percent in October, indicating that business investment was retreating sharply amid the global slump.
Investors were focusing more on continued economic rescue efforts by governments, including a tentative agreement on a rescue plan for U.S. automakers, said Kazuhiro Takahashi, equity general manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC, in Tokyo.
Democratic congressional leaders and White House officials agreed in principle Tuesday on a $15 billion bailout of Detroit's "Big Three" automakers that would give the government extraordinary power to restructure the failing industry.
Fears of a possible implosion of the U.S. auto industry have weighed on stock markets in recent weeks as a failure to come up with a support package would strike a further blow to the reeling U.S. labor market.
"Investors welcomed the news of congressional agreement to rescue the Big Three automakers, which came after Wall Street closed," said Daiwa SMBC's Takahashi.
Honda Motor Co. vaulted 10.3 percent and Nissan Motor Co. jumped 5.2 percent. In South Korea, Hyundai Motor Co. soared 9.2 percent, while Kia Motors Corp. gained 8.5 percent.
Japanese electronics maker Sony Corp. overcame an initial fall to rise 1.1 percent after announcing Tuesday it will cut 8,000 jobs - 4 per cent of its worldwide work force - rein in spending and shutter plants as it tries to ride out a looming worldwide recession that is battering Japan's export-reliant manufacturers.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 242.85, or 2.7 percent, to 8,691.33 after logging a total gain of 560 points Friday and Monday. Wall Street futures pointed to gains in US markets today with Dow futures up 117 points, or 1.3 per cent, at 8,842 and S&P500 futures up 12.5 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 902.
The Australian stock market bounced back from a slow morning, overcoming the negative lead from Wall Street to rise 1 percent in afternoon trading as resources stocks rallied.
BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, jumped 6.7 percent and rival Rio Tinto soared 12.1 percent.
Rio announced after the market closed that it will cut 14,000 jobs worldwide, consolidate offices and sell more assets in a bid to trim AU$10 billion ($6.6 billion) from its debt by the end of next year.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery was up 91 cents to $42.98 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract fell overnight $1.64 to settle at $42.07.
AP