ASIA MARKETS: Japan Stocks Soar To Lead Rally In Asia

By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks rallied Friday, cheering a rebound on Wall Street and upbeat German manufacturing data, with Japanese shares leading the charge on the back of a weakened yen.

Among the major indexes, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 2.5%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1%, and South Korea's Kospi added 0.6%.

The strong advance in Tokyo came as the U.S. dollar (USDJPY) climbed toward the Yen99-level and after a Reuters survey showed local manufacturers' optimism rose to the highest level in three years.

The advances also followed a higher finish for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), which snapped a six-day losing streak overnight after a monthly average of jobless claims fell to a more than five-year low in the U.S. and as manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index readings from China and Germany indicated expansion.

"The fact that the U.S. and European recoveries are improving (albeit fractionally) is a good foundation for global markets, but investors firstly have to get through the removal of the price distortions that quantitative easing created," said Perpetual investment market-research chief Matthew Sherwood.

Stock gains in Tokyo were spread across sectors, with Yamaha Motor Co. (7272.TO) climbing 4.8%, Citizen Holdings Co. gaining 5.1%, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KWHIF) adding 5.2%, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. advancing 4.5% and banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MTU) rising 2.4%.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMTOY) advanced 4.6% after the Nikkei newspaper reported it planned to build an automobile plant in the Philippines by around 2015.

In Sydney, mining major Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) rose 1.3%, while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FSUMY) jumped 4%, extending its post-earnings advance from Thursday.

A more-than-1% climb for Nymex crude futures overnight aided the region's energy producers. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WOPEY) gained 1.5%, and WorleyParsons Ltd. (WOR.AU) added 3.1% in Sydney, while Inpex Corp. (IPXHF) climbed 1.9% in Tokyo.

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