Asian markets pick up rally from Wall Street on Citi news (AP) (11-03-2009)

HONG KONG (AP) -- Asian stock markets rose sharply on Tuesday, with Japan's key index jumping nearly 5 percent, after Wall Street staged a massive rally as news that Citigroup is turning a profit buoyed hopes the stricken financial sector can recover.

The region's lurch higher, led partly by financial shares, was a welcome reprieve from the depressing declines in global equities over the last few weeks.

The catalyst for the rally on Wall Street was a letter from Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit to employees saying the bank had operated at a profit for the first two months of this year, logging its best performance since the third quarter of 2007, the last time it booked a quarterly profit.

Investors, desperate for any positive signs about the ailing financial system, cheered the news about the banking giant, which has lost so much money the federal government has been forced to extend billions in aid and take a 36 percent stake.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average shot up 321.14 points, or 4.6 percent, to 7,376.12, rebounding from a 26-year closing low hit this week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng leaped 332.56 points, or 2.8 percent, to 12,026.61.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi rose 35.31, or 3.2 percent, to 1,127.51. Benchmarks in Australia, Singapore and Taiwan were up 1.9 percent.

Banking shares were especially strong, with leading Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. gaining 4 percent. HSBC, which like Citi gave reassurances this week that it was performing better than expected so far this year, advanced 6 percent in Hong Kong, continuing its recovery form a 24 percent plunge on Monday.

Source: AP