Asian markets rally, spurred by Wall Street finish

By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch

Last Update: 8:06 PM ET Feb 3, 2008

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Asian markets rallied Monday after a higher close on
Wall Street, with Japanese stocks lifted by financials such as Mizuho Financial
Group and exporters such as Honda Motor Co. Australian shares got a lift from
miners such as Rio Tinto after Alcoa Inc. and Aluminum Corp. of China acquired a
12% stake in the company.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Average jumped 2.4% to 13,815.21 and the broader Topix
index advanced 2.1% to 1,364.28.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.7% at 5,942.90, New Zealand’s NZX 50 index
climbed 0.7% at 3,733 and South Korea’s Kospi added 1.7% to 1,662.77.

In Tokyo, shares of Mizuho Financial (JP:8411)(MFG) rose 3.8% and Nomura Holdings
(JP:8604) soared 4.8%. Among exporters, Honda (JP:7267)(HMC) rose 3% and Canon
Inc. (JP:7751)(CAJ) advanced 1.1%.

In Sydney, shares of Rio Tinto (AU:RIO)(RTP) jumped 2.9% on hopes the stake
purchase by Alcoa (AA) and Aluminum Corp., or Chinalco, could lead them to a
takeover battle for the company with BHP Billiton (BHP)(AU:BHP).

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar gained as much as 0.1% at 106.69 yen, and
the Australian dollar added 0.2% at $0.90.

March crude-oil futures declined as much as 46 cents to $88.50 a barrel in
electronic trading, after dropping more than $2 lower to $88.96 on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.

Friday on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) rose 92.8 points
to close at 12,743.2 and the S&P 500 index ($SPX) climbed 16.87 points to close
at 1,395.42, while the Nasdaq Composite ($COMPX) gained 23.5 points to finish at
2,413.36.

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