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US emergence from slump sparks a leap in Asia markets
30.10.09
The global economy showed further signs of health today as unemployment in Japan fell and stock markets in Asia surged on news that the US is out of recession.
Japan's unemployment rate dived for the second month as companies gained in confidence in the stimulus-fuelled global recovery but prices continued to tumble, underscoring weak demand at home.
Asian markets were up with the Nikkei 225 143.64 higher at 10,034.74 in Tokyo, the Hang Seng rising 636.15 to 21,901.14 in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite up 35.38 to 2995.85 in China.
Investors were cheered by the job news in Japan but more importantly the recovery in the US economy, the largest in the world, which grew 3.5% in the third quarter after the longest decline since the Great Depression.
The Japan jobless rate stood at 5.3% in September, down from 5.5% the previous month.
