London - Global equities rallied on Tuesday in response to Washington's $1 trillion plan to cleanse banks of toxic assets and spark a global economic recovery, analysts said.
Asia and Europe powered higher, mirroring huge gains overnight on Wall Street, as investors applauded US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's bid to soak up bad debts and kick-start the ailing US economy.
"Geithner's plan to resolve the US toxic debt issue certainly met with the approval of the market," said CMC Markets dealer Matt Buckland.
Hong Kong leapt 3.44%, Tokyo won 3.32% to close at a more than 10-week high, while Seoul added 1.85% and Sydney gained 0.84%.
In opening trade, Paris jumped 1.14% and Frankfurt increased by 0.93%. London was up 0.39% ahead of key inflation data expected to reveal falling prices in Britain for the first time since 1960.
Elsewhere in Asia, Wellington ended 1.69% higher, Taipei gained 2.30% to a five-month high and Manila climbed 2.05%.
Investors hope that the US move to soak up bad debt at the centre of the worst financial crisis since World War II will put markets on a recovery path, even if much uncertainty remains over whether the plan will work.
"While harsh critics are still thick on the ground, there should be few arguing that the US isn't pushing all levers full-forward in attempts to arrest a slide into economic quagmire," said Societe Generale analyst Patrick Bennett.
'Big step forward'
Tuesday's gains were more modest than those seen on Wall Street on Monday, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt 6.84%, logging its fifth largest percentage gain ever and striking the highest level since February 13.
"It's bullish that we're getting these developments out of the US," David Halliday at Macquarie Private Wealth told Dow Jones Newswires.
Economic data was suggesting that "the recession was at its worst in the US in January, and maybe we will get a bottoming," he added.
US Treasury Secretary Geithner said on Monday that the plan to unclog the banking system would be worth $500bn.
That figure could eventually rise to $1 trillion, funded by the government and private investors.
"Much of the thunder surrounding the details of Geithner plan was stolen by the various elements leaked in the media over the weekend," said Calyon analyst Daragh Maher.
"The main components were as expected, but the ability of the equity markets to extend their upbeat tone in such a decisive manner suggests that they are willing to give this latest initiative the benefit of the doubt."
Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano welcomed the initiative as a "big step forward."
But some analysts remained sceptical about whether the bad assets could be priced and sold under current market conditions, and whether banks holding them would be willing to sell at a deep discount.
"Key question marks remain regarding the success of Geithner's plan in unclogging credit markets," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at SJS Markets in Hong Kong.
"Any success will not be imminent and in the meantime the economy may deteriorate further."
There were also questions over how long the stock market rally would last if world economy did not start to show a clear improvement, dealers said.
Japan's Nikkei index has soared almost 19% from a 26-year closing low of 7,054.98 points on March 10, but it is down more than 4% since the start of the year.
Other major global markets are also still in the red for 2009, with the Dow Jones down about 11% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng off about 4%.
- AFP