April 6, 2010

Asian Stocks Neared 22-Month Highs

Asian Stock Market neared 22-month highs on Wednesday as regional investors largely shrugged off festering worries about fiscal problems in Europe and focused on a recovery in the world economy.

The upbeat mood about global growth was also reflected in commodity markets, with copper prices hovering near 20-month highs and oil prices near 18-month peaks.

While worries about Greece's ability to cut its mountain of debt continued to weigh on the euro , those concerns scarcely caused a ripple in Asian markets news, with some investors citing profit-taking as the biggest near-term threat to the regional rally in stocks, bonds and currencies.

"Both domestic and U.S. economic fundamentals have been showing signs of improvement, and sentiment is solid," said Kim Yong-kyun, a market analyst at Daishin Securities in Seoul.