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World markets soar on possible US rescue package
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-19 20:35 The news triggered a rally in US stock futures, suggesting Wall Street would advance Friday, too. Dow futures rose 245 points, or 2.2 percent, to 11,227, and S&P 500 futures climbed 39 points, or 3.2 percent, to 1,242. "Bear markets are extremely sensitive, and this market on a scale of one to 10 is a 13," Fullman said. "I don't say any prudent money manager would say we're out of the woods, but right in this moment it all seems positive and leading toward an upward move for the market going into Friday session." The dollar also rose, advancing to 107.42 yen, while the euro fell to $1.4211. That helped stocks of major exporters like Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. In China, the Shanghai benchmark jumped 9.5 percent -- its biggest gain ever -- after the government eliminated a tax on share purchases and said it was buying shares in state-owned banks. Bank of China, the country's second-largest lender, surged 10 percent , the daily maximum limit. China Construction Bank also had gained 10 percent. In Russia, the two main stock exchanges opened, then closed, then opened again amid wild price swings. MICEX, where most share trading takes place, was up 23.1 percent on the day, while the RTS rose 15.5 percent. Asian markets, meanwhile, were helped by the Bank of Japan, which pumped another 2 trillion yen ($18.7 bilion) into money markets, its seventh injection this week. The move followed Thursday's coordinated effort by central banks around the world to keep the financial system liquid. Europe's central banks also offered up more cash to jittery banks on Friday, putting a combined $90 billion into money markets. Word of a possible US bailout lifted Asian banks, which had tumbled earlier this week. Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia's biggest investment bank and securities firm, exploded almost 38 percent percent. Shares of China's biggest lender, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, or ICBC, rose 16.2 percent in Hong Kong and 9.9 percent in Shanghai. Japanese megabanks were up strongly, with the country's leading bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., up 10.5 percent and Mizuho Financial Group adding 12.6 percent. In South Korea, Korea Exchange Bank's shares fell 10.3 percent after British bank HSBC Holdings PLC said it canceled an agreement to purchase a controlling stake in the company. Oil prices rose in Asia. Light, sweet crude for October delivery gained $1.63 to $99.51 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. |
