Investing.com - Asian stock markets were broadly higher on Wednesday, adding to sharp gains from the previous session as expectations that China will loosen its monetary policy to boost growth overshadowed concerns over a possible Greek debt default.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.3% Australia’s S&P/ASX200 added 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 0.99%.
China's Economic Information newspaper reported earlier that the People’s Bank of China could cut banks' reserve requirement ratio by 0.50% by the end of January, citing industry experts.
The news came a day after government data showed that China economy grew at the slowest pace in more than two years and expanded less than 9% for the first time since mid-2009.
Shares in property developers led gains in Hong Kong, with Sun Hung Kai Properties jumping 2.75%, Sino Land shares gaining 1.6%, while China Overseas Land & Investment rose 2.4%.
Hong Kong-based exporters with high exposure to Europe performed poorly as the threat of a default by Greece continued ahead of the resumption of talks between Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the country’s creditors later in the day.
Shares in Esprit Holdings tumbled 3.4%, while Cosco Pacific, which operates ports in Greece, slumped 0.9%.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei outperformed other regional equities, soaring past its 25-day moving average. Traders attributed the strong gain to technical short-covering after stop-losses on Nikkei futures were triggered.
Shares in chip maker Elpida Memory rallied 6.6% after the Yomiuri Shimbun said the company would seek a capital tie-up with U.S. firm Micron Technology.
Shares in Yahoo Japan rose 1.6% on news that co-founder Jerry Yang was leaving the boards of both Yahoo-named firms, as well as Chinese Internet major Alibaba Group, fuelling speculation that Yahoo will sell off its Asian assets.
Troubled utility provider Tokyo Electric Power Company rallied 7.8% after saying that it would raise electricity prices for corporate customers in April.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mixed ahead of a closely-watched debt auction from Portugal.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 futures slipped 0.1%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to modest 0.1% increase.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on producer price inflation and industrial production.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.3% Australia’s S&P/ASX200 added 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 0.99%.
China's Economic Information newspaper reported earlier that the People’s Bank of China could cut banks' reserve requirement ratio by 0.50% by the end of January, citing industry experts.
The news came a day after government data showed that China economy grew at the slowest pace in more than two years and expanded less than 9% for the first time since mid-2009.
Shares in property developers led gains in Hong Kong, with Sun Hung Kai Properties jumping 2.75%, Sino Land shares gaining 1.6%, while China Overseas Land & Investment rose 2.4%.
Hong Kong-based exporters with high exposure to Europe performed poorly as the threat of a default by Greece continued ahead of the resumption of talks between Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the country’s creditors later in the day.
Shares in Esprit Holdings tumbled 3.4%, while Cosco Pacific, which operates ports in Greece, slumped 0.9%.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei outperformed other regional equities, soaring past its 25-day moving average. Traders attributed the strong gain to technical short-covering after stop-losses on Nikkei futures were triggered.
Shares in chip maker Elpida Memory rallied 6.6% after the Yomiuri Shimbun said the company would seek a capital tie-up with U.S. firm Micron Technology.
Shares in Yahoo Japan rose 1.6% on news that co-founder Jerry Yang was leaving the boards of both Yahoo-named firms, as well as Chinese Internet major Alibaba Group, fuelling speculation that Yahoo will sell off its Asian assets.
Troubled utility provider Tokyo Electric Power Company rallied 7.8% after saying that it would raise electricity prices for corporate customers in April.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mixed ahead of a closely-watched debt auction from Portugal.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 futures slipped 0.1%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to modest 0.1% increase.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on producer price inflation and industrial production.