Global markets rise on Bernanke stimulus promise

Global stocks rose today after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke promised to continue to stimulate the US economy.
Oil rose above USD 107 a barrel, near the highest level in more than a year, on hopes of stronger US demand.
The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 3.2 per cent to 2,072.99, its biggest gain in nearly seven months, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 2.6 per cent to 21.437.49. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 0.4 per cent to 14,472.58.
In Europe, Germany's Dax rose 1.1 per cent to 8,155.18 and France's CAC-40 gained 0.9 per cent to 3,876.64.
Markets rebounded from caution a day earlier over unexpectedly weak Chinese trade figures that suggested the world's second-largest economy is slowing even more abruptly than forecast.

"In one short and sweet statement, Federal Reserve chairman Bernanke has flicked a switch on the markets," said strategist Evan Lucas of Australia's IG Markets in a report.

Bernanke said yesterday the US needs "highly accommodative monetary policy" -- or low interest rates -- "for the foreseeable future."
That reassured investors who were dismayed by Bernanke's comments last month that the Fed would likely slow its bond purchases later this year and end them around mid-2014 if the economy strengthens. Some critics said the Fed bungled its communications strategy.
The Fed has been buying USD 85 billion of financial assets a month to keep interest rates low and encourage borrowing and spending. That stimulus has driven global stocks higher, so the prospect of reducing it caused market volatility in recent weeks.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.8 per cent to 8,154.05 and Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8 per cent to 4,940.20. Markets in Singapore, Manila and Jakarta also rose.
In China, gains were led by shares in finance, cement producers, coal miners, real estate, non-ferrous metals and paper-processing companies.
Ping An Bank Ltd rose by the daily permitted maximum of 10 per cent. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. Ltd gained 9.2 per cent and Citic Securities, China's biggest brokerage by asset value, gained 7.9 per cent.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial average future rose 0.9 per cent in electronic trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchanges. The future for the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 1 per cent.

In currency markets, the dollar fell to 98.39 yen from late Wednesday's 98.83 yen. The euro was little changed at USD 1.3143 from USD 1.3140.
Crude rose 50 cents to USD 1076.03 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained USD 2.99 to USD 106.52 yesterday after a report indicated US stockpiles fell by far more than expected last week, in a potential sign of growing demand.