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U.S. gives Asia a lift
(CNN) -- Asian markets are broadly higher at midday Wednesday, spurred by a jump on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei is up 2 percent. Tuesday's 2.6 percent gain for the U.S. Nasdaq, plus the decision by the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold and better-than-expected industrial production data in Japan and South Korea are all encouraging investors in Asia. The Nikkei 225 is up 1.95 percent to 10,767.14 at the end of the morning session, after going as high as 10,788.98. The index put on 1.02 percent Tuesday for its third straight day of gains. The broader Topix index is up 1.0 percent to 1055.62. Elsewhere in the region, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand are all in the black on increased confidence about earnings and growth prospects. Seoul's Kospi is doing best, up 1.55 percent to 787.35 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is 1.4 percent higher to 12,261.10. Taiwan's Taiex is ahead about 1 percent. Singapore is up about 0.6 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX200 is 0.7 percent higher to 3265.5. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics is up 1.8 percent to 470,500 won after touching a record high of 474,000 won in morning trade. That follows Tuesday's tie-up on LCD screens with Japanese consumer electronics leader Sony. In Tokyo, Sony is up 2.85 percent to 3970 yen. It unveiled a major restructure late Tuesday that involves the loss of up to 20,000 jobs over the next three years. (Full story) Other tech-related stocks are also higher. Chip and computer maker Fujitsu is up 3.8 percent to 698 yen. Hitachi is about 2 percent higher to 654 yen. Both will report half-year earnings later Wednesday. Matsushita Electric Industrial is ahead 7 percent to1454 yen. Big banks are mixed after a strong start. UFJ is up 2.2 percent to 513,000 yen after going as high as 540,000 yen, and Mizuho is 1.4 percent ahead to 295,000 yen. SMFG and MTFG are just in the red. Carmakers are in the black, led by a 1.8 percent gain for Nissan to 1226 yen. Toyota is 1.25 percent ahead but Honda has slipped to be down 0.7 percent to 4240 yen. Preliminary figures released early Wednesday shows Japan's industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 3.0 percent in September from a month earlier. That was double the median forecast of 1.5 percent. (Full story) South Korea also posted strong output figures for September. (Full story) Korean blue-chips are broadly higher, with a gain of 2.6 percent to 213,000 won for SK Telecom. Leading bank Shinhan is up 2.8 percent to 18,350 won. In Hong Kong, HSBC is continuing to gain ground, up 1.3 percent to HK$114.50. China Mobile is 2.2 percent higher to HK$23.00. In Taiwan, market heavyweight TSMC is up 2.2 percent to T$69.50. Australian resources giant BHP Billiton is down 1 percent to A$11.14 after posting a 9 percent drop in quarterly profit. (Full story) The moves in Asia follow another strong day for Wall Street Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average put on 1.46 percent to 9748.31, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 2.62 percent to 1932.26. (Full story) As expected, the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates at a 45-year low of 1.0 percent. (Full story)
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