Asian markets rise sharply on positive outlook for Barclays (AP) (27-01-2009)

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Asian markets posted strong gains on Tuesday, led by a jump of nearly 5 percent in Japan, as an upbeat earnings forecast from British bank Barclays eased worries about the health of major banks.

Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 378.93 points, or 4.9 percent, to 8,061.07, while Australia's S&P/ASX200 index rose 3 percent to 3,444. India's Sensex also advanced, gaining 2.8 percent to 8,913.35.

Several Asian markets, including Hong Kong and South Korea, remained shut for the Lunar New Year holiday. Markets in mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan were also closed.

Shares in Barclays PLC surged more than 70 percent Monday after the bank said it expects pretax profits for 2008 to be well over 5.3 billion pounds ($7.3 billion), despite 8 billion pounds of asset writedowns at its investment banking division.

Dutch bank ING provided an extra fillip for banking stocks, jumping nearly 28 percent after it said it would get a government backstop for 80 percent of a 27.7 billion euro ($36.4 billion) portfolio of risky assets.

Major Japanese financial stocks rose in the wake of gains in European banks. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group jumped 8.3 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. rose 8.1 percent.

Source: AP