Nikkei up 152pts; steel and techs surge
Japan's Nikkei average gained 1.7% on Friday as steelmakers surged after Nippon Steel negotiated a smaller-than-expected price cut with Toyota Motor but the benchmark marked its first negative week since early March.Sony and other high-tech shares jumped after Google Inc's quarterly profit topped expectations, and world's top cellphone maker Nokia said it saw signs of stabilising demand
Wall St rallies post JPMorgan results
Wall Street rallied for the second day on Thursday with tech and financials leading the pact after Google and JPMorgan Chase came out with better than expected numbers.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 95.81 points, or 1.19%, to 8,125.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 13.24 points, or 1.55%, to 865.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 43.64 points, or 2.68, to 1,670.44
FTSE rises 2.1% on banks, oils
Britain's FTSE 100 ended 2.1% higher on Thursday, lifted by banks following results from JPMorgan Chase & Co and by energy stocks on firmer crude prices.
The UK index closed up 84.58 points at 4,052.98. It last topped the 4,000 mark on April 3.
Nikkei opens up 2.2% on Wall St rally
Asian markets have opened up on Friday on the back of strong posive cues coming in from Wall Street. The earnings figures from Google and JPMorgan came as welcome news for investors who have been waiting for news to ease the global financial and economic crisis.
Nikkei ends flat on China slowdown
Japan's Nikkei stock average trimmed gains to 0.1% on Thursday after data showed China's quarterly growth at its weakest ever, prompting investors to lock in profits after the benchmark rose more than 3% in early trade. The market was supported by hopes that the US recession could be abating, while NEC Electronics ended trade bid up by its daily limit of 12% on news it is in merger talks with Renesas Technology Corp.