Japan's Nikkei notched its biggest one-day percentage gain in nearly seven years
It was a big day in Asia, with the major benchmarks following
Wall Street's bullish lead. In Japan, the Nikkei easily outpaced its regional peers by surging 7.7% -- notching its biggest one-day percentage gain since October 2008 and moving
back into positive year-to-date territory. Bringing buyers to the table was a weakening yen, as well as a pledge by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to cut the corporate tax rate by 3.3 percentage points over the next two years.
Elsewhere in the region, China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng extended their recent rally -- adding a respective 2.3% and 4.1% -- after China's Ministry of Finance announced its intention to support growth by accelerating infrastructure projects, quickening the pace of tax reforms, and increasing private financing. South Korea's Kospi, meanwhile, tacked on 3%, following a report that showed the unemployment rate fell to a seven-month low.
This burst of buying power has spread to European markets, as well, with the major indexes enjoying strong leads at midday. At last check, the French CAC 40 is up 2.7%, London's FTSE 100 is 2% higher -- despite an unexpected drop in U.K. industrial production and a rising trade deficit -- and the German DAX is flirting with a 1.9% pop, thanks to upbeat trade data.
