Asian markets rally

Asian markets rallied Thursday following a surge on Wall Street past
10 ,000 points and a 12- month high, which came on the back of
stronger- than-expected earnings reports. Tokyo ended 1.77 percent
higher, Hong Kong added 0.51 percent, Sydney 0.60 percent and
Seoul 0.60 percent. The stock rally sent the dollar lower against the
euro, lifting oil prices. New York's main oil contract, light sweet
crude for November delivery rose 49 cents to 75.67 dollars a
barrel. The crude rise boosted commodities stocks. TOKYO: Up 1.77
percent. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index
climbed 178.44 points to 10 , 238.65. HONG KONG: Up 0.51 percent.
The Hang Seng Index finished 112.6 points up at 21 , 999.08. The
index is at its highest in more than 14 months. SYDNEY: Up 0.60
percent. The S&P/ASX200 rose 28.8 points to 4 ,859.9. SHANGHAI: Up
0.31 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and
B shares, was up 9.26 points to 2 , 979.79. SEOUL: Up 0.60 percent.
The KOSPI gained 9.9 points to 1 , 658.99. TAIPEI: Up 0.19 percent.
The weighted index rose 14.65 points to 7 , 710.40. SINGAPORE: Up
0.14 percent. The Straits Times Index added 3.67 points to 2 ,
712.15. BANGKOK: Down 5.30 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand
(SET) composite index plunged 38.75 points to close at 692.72.
KUALA LUMPUR: Flat. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 0.02
points to 1 , 246.86. JAKARTA: Up 0.15 percent. The Jakarta Composite
Index gained 3.66 points to 2 , 515.38. MANILA: Up 0.41 percent.
The index added 12.09 points to 2 , 942.79. MUMBAI: Down 0.21
percent. The 30- share Sensex dropped 35.91 points to 17 ,195.2.