22 Jan 2009

Asia-Pacific markets higher

10:12 pm on 22 January 2009

Markets in Asia and the Pacific rose on Thursday.

Japan's Nikkei average closed 1.9% higher after a late jump, boosted by property stocks when the Bank of Japan said it would accept bonds issued by real estate investment trusts as collateral for short-term cash.

The Australian share market closed mildly higher with gains in the resources sector despite a sell off in metal prices after it was reported the Chinese economy grew by 9% in 2008.

At the 1615 AEDT close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had gained 44 points, or 1.28% to 3,486.8, and the broader All Ordinaries index rose 37.1 points, or 1.09%, to 3,431.9.

In New Zealand, the benchmark index closed up 29 points, or 1%, to 2734.

Top stocks were all higher. Fletcher Building rose 16 cents at $5.80 after saying it has raised $100 million in a corporate notes issue that is still open. Contact Energy gained 14c to $6.74, while Telecom was up 5c to $2.52.