Summary The Dow rose 0.56 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.44 percent and Nasdaq added 0.19 percent.
HONG KONG, March 26, 2014 (AFP) - 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 while Hong Kong was 0.82 percent higher in the afternoon. But Shanghai eased 0.27 percent in late trade.
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 defence ministry said the missiles flew 650 kilometres (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.
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 programme 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 $1.3807 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 141.27 yen, compared with 141.36 yen.
The dollar edged up to 102.32 yen from 102.25 yen in New York.
On oil markets New York s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for May delivery, was up 21 cents at $99.40 a barrel in afternoon trade, and Brent crude for May climbed 23 cents to $107.22.
Gold fetched $1,313.47 an ounce at 0630 GMT compared with $1,313.10 late Tuesday.
In other markets:
-- 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
