Asia, Pacific Shares Edge Up On Wall Street Rally

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - Asian and Pacific markets rebounded Wednesday after Wall Street gained overnight with China's Shanghai Composite index leading the rally.

Both China's markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong, were gainers on Wednesday with the Shanghai Composite index jumping 4.01 percent and the Hong Kong Hang Seng up 1.93 percent.

Tokyo's Nikkei index gained 1.89 percent in late afternoon trading, while Australia's All Ordinaries index closed about 0.9 percent higher.

Philippine share prices also closed upward showing 1.4 percent higher following an overnight rebound on Wall Street.

Manila's composite index closed up 25.41 points to 1,905.28 while the all-shares index was 0.47 percent higher at 1,202.96 points. Data showed 35 gainers against 58 losers and 34 unchanged.

However, South Korea's KOSPI index was down about 0.05 percent in mid-afternoon trading, a rare decline in the region.

The Dow Jones industrial average expanded 270 points or 3.3 percent on Tuesday as investors welcomed signs that Detroit's struggling Big Three automakers might get a bailout after all.