HONG KONG -- Japanese and Australian stocks led a broad advance in Asian markets through mid-session Wednesday, as investors snapped up consumer conglomerate Canon Inc. while BHP Billiton Ltd also attracted attention in the commodity complex after strong gains on Wall Street.
U.S. stock indexes hit fresh multi-year highs Tuesday after lower oil prices and data showing consumer confidence remained at higher levels than expected.
The Nikkei 225 Average (JP:1804610: news, chart, profile) ended the morning session up 1.7% to 15,821.2. The Topix index, which tracks about 1,600 companies on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, was up 1.9% to 1,579.3.
"Most of the reasons for the run are a reaction to the (Tuesday) sell-off and positive sentiment overnight in all the regional markets being stronger," said Miles Remington, head of equity trading at BNP Paribas in Hong Kong.
Remington said he was cautious on the short-term market outlook, but upbeat on a longer term view if a U.S. interest rate cut comes through early next year as expected.
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