But while analysts described the move as just what the doctor prescribed to repair investor sentiment, some said worries about the ability of member European countries to slash their yawning fiscal deficits still remain.The relief rally in Asia came after European finance ministers and central bankers agreed on a new loan program, which could top 750 billion euros ($971 billion), to keep the Greek debt crisis from spreading to other European nations. While European nations will chip in about 500 billion euros, the International Monetary Fund could contribute an additional 250 billion euros. Read full story on the proposed Europe-IMF package.
"[The news] does remove a great curtain of uncertainty that has been hanging over and engulfing the markets in the last couple of months," said Michael Heffernan, senior client adviser at Austock Stockbroking in Melbourne. "If they had done this back in January, it probably wouldn't have cost half as much. But at least they've done it and it's going down particularly well with the markets."
Heffernan said the size of the package agreed by European finance ministers and the IMF underlined their commitment to stem the sovereign debt crisis in the region.
"It certainly looks like it's the real thing, given the fact that we've had various parliaments passing legislation," said Heffernan. "From the 'whites of the eye' and 'the color of their money,' certainly they give every indication that it's for real, this one."
While the European Central Bank said it would intervene in the euro zone's debt markets to ensure they have liquidity, other central banks around the world also joined hands with the ECB.
The ECB said late Sunday that the U.S. Federal Reserve is going to make sure that foreign banks have the dollars they need, and that the Fed will ship dollars overseas through the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, and the Swiss National Bank, in addition to the ECB. The Bank of Japan said later that it too will join the swaps agreement.
Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 1.6% higher, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 2.3%, South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.9%, China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.5%, India's Sensex gained 1.8% and Taiwan's Taiex rose 1.3%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (INDU 10,380, -139.89, -1.33%) futures jumped 243 points to 10,578 in screen trading, pointing toward a strong rebound on Wall Street after straight four days of declines.In currency trading, most Asian currencies outside the Japanese yen advanced on improved risk appetite. The Australian dollar soared to $0.9051 from $0.8881 late in New York on Friday, with the greenback falling to 1,130.68 Korean won from 1,142 won, and to 44.96 Indian rupees from 45.56 rupees.
The Japanese yen weakened however, as investors likely sold the low-yielding currency to fund the purchase of riskier assets, with the U.S. dollar buying 92.81 yen from 91.58 yen.
The euro, meanwhile, spiked more than 3% to 120.42 yen from 116.78 yen. you are the only one who feels betrayed
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