Asian Stocks Close Higher; Europe Mixed

By Yuri Kageyama

TOKYO -- Asian stocks extended their gains Tuesday after Wall Street touched its highest level for 2009 amid optimism low interest rates would continue to power this year's rally in global markets. European shares were narrowly mixed.

Although Asia's rally ran out of momentum toward the end of the session, it marked the region's third straight advance. Oil and gold prices softened, while the dollar slipped against the yen.

Investors were cheered by an overnight surge in the U.S., where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed 2% Monday to its best finish since Oct. 3, 2008. Also boosting traders' moods in Asia was news the G-20 major countries will keep economic stimulus measures in place, as well as relatively healthy earnings reports at Japanese companies, analysts said.

Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong, said more signs of trouble for the global economy, including rising unemployment in the U.S., were nevertheless assuring investors that existing loose-money policies would continue.

"It is a matter of twisted logic," he said. "They forget the fact that the economy is lousy and we are still in a recession."

As of 5:20 a.m. EST in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.2%, Germany's DAX was up 0.06% and France's CAC-40 fell 0.09%. Wall Street futures, meanwhile, augured a lackluster opening for stocks in the U.S. on Tuesday.

Japan's Nikkei stock average added 61.74 points, or 0.6%, to close at 9,870.73, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.3%.