Asian stock markets up as global recession fears ease

Major Asian stock markets closed Wednesday with gains as corporate earnings beat expectations and inflation did not hit companies’ profitability as hard as feared, easing global recession worries.

According to some analysts, good company earnings may make the Fed think twice before taking aggressive monetary steps.

But the Chinese government decided to conduct a mass COVID-19 test again in the city of Shanghai, reviving concerns such steps may disrupt the economic recovery.

Chinese Prime Minister LI Keqiang said in a statement that in the first half of the year, "difficult efforts are needed" to recover in the face of the pressures on economic growth caused by COVID-19 and other unexpected developments.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, rose 50.98 points or 1.60% to 3,230.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock exchange soared 718.58 points, or 2.67%, to 27,680.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, rose 229.16 points, or 1.11%, to 20,890 points.

China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange gained 591.44 points or 1.08% to 3,304 points.

In India, the Sensex benchmark was up 591.44 points, or 1.08%, to end the day at 55,359, while the Singapore index went up 52.50 points, or 1.68%, to close at 3,170.​​​​​​​