Asian stocks rose on Friday, erasing earlier declines, despite overnight plunges in US and European markets, some to decade-lows, as oil slid below $50, leading a global commodities sell-off. Investors were unnerved after US unemployment claims approached a 26-year high amid growing fears of a severe global recession. US stocks led by Citigroup tumbled and Treasury bond yields fell to record lows on the grim jobs data and as lawmakers postponed a vote on a plan to salvage the auto industry data. Futures on the S&P500 rose 0.9%.
Asian markets (Fri)
5:21am BST
Nikkei up 66.83 (+0.87%) at 7,769.87
Topix up 2.53 (+0.32%) at 784.81
Hang Seng up 553.22 (+4.5%) at 12,851.78
US markets (Thurs)
DJIA down 444.99 (-5.56%) at 7,552.29
Nasdaq down 70.30 (-5.07%) at 1,316.12
S&P500 down 54.14 (-6.71%) at 752.44
European markets (Thurs)
FTSE100 down 130.69 (-3.26%) at 3,874.99
Eurofirst 300 down 30.93 (-3.81%) at 781.06
Currencies
5:25am BST
€/$ 1.2485 (1.2492)
$/¥ 94.51 (95.12)
£/$ 1.4803 (1.4925)
Commodities (updated)
5:25am BST
Brent Crude (Jan09) up 0.42 at 48.50
Light Crude (Jan09) up 0.02 at 49.44
100 Oz Gold (Dec08) down 0.40 at 748.30
3M 24HR Copper down 320.00 at 3,420.00
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 3.06 (3.29)
UK 3.89 (4.04)
Germany 3.39 (3.52)
Japan 1.40 (1.45)
Sources: FT, Reuters