Asian markets post fresh gains after Wall St record
In early business, the dollar was at 104.58 yen from 104.66 yen late Tuesday in New York
HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian markets rallied again on Wednesday with investors taking heart from another record close on Wall Street and talk of central bank stimulus.
Japan s Nikkei was once again the stand-out market, soaring on the back of a weaker yen and wiping out all the losses suffered after the shock of Britain s June 23 vote to leave the European Union.
An optimistic tone has filtered through trading floors all week, after US data Friday showed the world s number one economy created far more jobs than expected last month.
A landslide win for Japan s ruling party at the weekend and the sooner-than-expected choice of a replacement for Britain s David Cameron as prime minister has also lifted confidence.
Australia s ruling party also was confirmed at the weekend of winners of a general election eight days earlier.
The vote in Japan has fanned expectations the country s leaders will push through a giant stimulus programme to reignite stuttering growth, with reports saying it could be as much as 10 trillion yen.
The prospect of more cash flooding the Japanese market, as well as the US jobs figures, has sent the yen tumbling around four percent since Thursday -- boosting exporters on Tokyo s exchanges.
In early business, the dollar was at 104.58 yen from 104.66 yen late Tuesday in New York.
By the break in Tokyo, the Nikkei was up one percent and is now sitting above its June 24 close, when it dived almost eight percent in reaction to the Brexit vote.
Hong Kong climbed 0.6 percent and Shanghai was 0.4 percent higher, while Sydney added 0.4 percent and Seoul put on 0.6 percent. Sydney, Manila and Jakarta also posted healthy gains.
"Japan s stimulus package and a massive wave of positive risk sentiment have spurred Wall Street to record highs," Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA Asia Pacific.
"Along with the stimuli, diminishing political uncertainty in UK, Japan and Australia has added supportive foundation to this current risk rally."
The advances came after the Dow and S&P 500 hit fresh records in New York while the tech-rich Nasdaq closed above 5,000 for the first time this year.
On oil markets, both main contracts retreated after soaring almost five percent Tuesday in reaction to an OPEC forecast that an oversupply on world markets would ease this year.
West Texas Intermediate was down 0.7 percent at $46.47 and Brent also slipped 0.7 percent to $48.13.
