A businessman walks past a share prices board in Tokyo. Japan’s stock prices jumped 1,343.43 points to 18,770.51 yesterday.

AFP/Tokyo

A wave of confidence swept through Asian markets yesterday, led by a soaring Tokyo, extending the previous day’s broad global advance as China announced policy moves to bolster the economy.
Investors dumped assets considered safe bets and piled into riskier prospects, with the Japanese yen sinking against the dollar and euro, while the Australian dollar recovered from six-year lows and emerging market currencies got much-needed support.
Big gains on stock markets—Tokyo shot up 7.71%—come after weeks of being hammered by concerns about slowing growth in China, whose economy is worth more than 13% of global GDP. Japan’s share prices jumped 1,343.43 points to close at 18,770.51 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Decades of rapid growth in China have been spurred by huge exports and massive state spending, but commentators say Beijing needs to retool to boost domestic consumption if its economy is to continue to grow.
Fears over the communist authorities’ ability to manage this transition have sent wobbles through financial markets around the world, where China has until now been a bright spot on an otherwise gloomy horizon.
Suggestions that Beijing had stepped in to shore up mainland shares on Tuesday sent Shanghai and Hong Kong higher.
An announcement by the country’s finance ministry that it would accelerate major construction projects, encourage private capital to invest in key areas and cut taxes for small and medium-sized enterprises to support growth also appeared to be adding to the positive mood, some analysts said.
In another positive move, media reports said that China is preparing to unveil broad reforms for state-owned companies which will see some firms shut and others introduce more diversified ownership.
The initiative, outlined in a purported official document circulating online, addresses concerns that China has slowed reforms while its economy falters and its stock market gyrates.
“The gains in Chinese shares helped calm markets down and investors believe that China will have more fiscal policies, not only monetary, to stabilise the economy,” said Thebes Lo, Hong Kong- based vice president at Kim Eng Securities.
“Risk appetite is back a little bit.”
Japan’s Nikkei led the charge yesterday, registering its biggest one-day rise in seven years.
But illustrating the continued volatility, that tub-thumping rise came after a fall on Tuesday that had erased the last of its gains for 2015.