Asian markets continue their northward journey

20 Feb 2012 Evaluate

Sentiments continued to remain bullish in the Asian region on Monday as policy easing by China and prospects for Greece to clinch a second bailout fund buoyed investor appetite for riskier assets, sending US crude up nearly $2 a barrel and Asian shares up nearly 1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index ended at 2,363.6 points after rising 0.2 percent over the last week after cutting its reserve requirement ratio (RRR) -- the amount of cash banks must hold in reserves -- boosting lending capacity by an estimated 350-400 billion yuan ($55.6-$63.5 billion). China’s move followed Japan, which last week increased monetary easing, as global central banks inject liquidity to shield their economies from the euro zone’s debt crisis.

However, Hong Kong shares closed lower by 0.30% on Monday, reversing early gains after a muted response to Beijing's second cut in bank reserve requirements and exacerbated by weakness in the energy sector as investors took profit on the year's outperformers.

Asian Indices

Last Trade

Change in Points

Change in %

Shanghai Composite

2,363.60

6.42

0.27

Hang Seng

21,424.79

-66.83

-0.31

Jakarta Composite

3,980.25

3.71

0.09

KLSE Composite

1,560.57

3.42

0.22

Nikkei 225

9,485.09

100.92

1.08

Straits Times

3,021.19

20.60

0.69

Seoul Composite

2,024.90

1.43

0.07

Taiwan Weighted

7,954.82

60.46

0.77

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