Asian Shares Rally On Earnings Optimism

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks posted strong gains on Wednesday after Wall Street rallied to its best day in more than three weeks overnight, helped by reasonably healthy corporate earnings for the past quarter.

Sentiment was also underpinned after Netflix reported better-than expected results and a smaller subscriber loss than analysts had feared.

Chinese shares advanced amid renewed bets of tech crackdown ending after reports suggested that authorities are preparing to impose a fine of more than $1 billion on ride-hailing firm Didi Global over data breaches.

In another development, China's central bank kept its loan prime rate steady amid signs of economic recovery. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.77 percent to 3,304.72 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended 1.11 percent higher at 20,890.22.

Japanese stocks jumped on improved sentiment after reports suggested that Russia's Gazprom would resume gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline this week, albeit at reduced capacity.

The Nikkei average soared 2.67 percent to 27,680.26, extending gains for a fifth straight session ahead of Thursday's BoJ decision. The broader Topix index closed 2.29 percent higher at 1,946.44.

Tech shares led the surge, with Advantest, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron rallying 4-5 percent. Technology investor SoftBank Group advanced 2.4 percent.

Seoul stocks rose notably as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen started her two-day visit to South Korea. The Kospi average inched up 0.67 percent to close at 2,386.85, with financials and chemical firms pacing the gainers. KB Financial, Shinhan Financial Group and LG Chem surged 3-5 percent.

Australian markets rose, led by gains in the banking and mining sectors. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 climbed 1.65 percent to 6,759.20, while the broader All Ordinaires index jumped 1.78 percent to settle at 6,975.20.

Banks Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac rose between 0.8 percent and 1.1 percent as central bank governor Philip Lowe reiterated the need for higher interest rates to keep inflation in check.

Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto gained 1-2 percent on the back of strong metal prices. Cloud services firm Megaport soared 23 percent after reporting its first ever quarterly EBITDA profit.

Across the Tasman, New Zeeland's S&P NZX-50 index ended 0.33 percent higher at 11,199.01.

U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight as more companies reported better-than-expected earnings, offsetting worries about inflation and interest-rate hikes.

The Dow surged 2.4 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.1 percent and the S&P 500 spiked 2.8 percent despite signs the housing market is slowing from its torrid pace.