Asian Shares Rise; Hang Seng Gains 2.2%
NEW YORK (
) -- Asian stocks rose Wednesday after Wall Street posted its best two-day performance in three months on better-than-expected earnings from the likes of
UPS
(UPS) - Get Report
and encouraging housing data.
The Nikkei 225 stock average in Tokyo rose 0.3% to 10,404.33 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 2.2%. The benchmark index in China rose 2.4%.
Shares of
Toyota
(TM) - Get Report
fell almost 6% in Tokyo Wednesday as the world's No. 1 automaker continues to wrestle with a massive global recall because of sticking gas pedals.
Honda
(HMC) - Get Report
shares rose 2.3% prior to its reporting that third-quarter earnings topped analysts' forecasts and it raised its
.
Stocks in London, Frankfurt and Paris were higher by 0.2% to 0.4%.
Premarket futures in the U.S. suggested stocks would open higher on Wall Street Wednesday.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
gained 111 points, or 1.1%, to 10,297 on Tuesday. The
S&P 500
gained 14 points, or 1.3%, at 1103 and the
Nasdaq
finished up by 19 points, or 0.9%, to 2190.
The National Association of Realtors on Tuesday said its pending-home sales index rose 1% in December, putting it 10.9% higher from a year earlier. Economists had been expecting an increase of 1.1%.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.
Follow TheStreet.com on
and become a fan on