Japanese investors were boosted by a rise in March factory output, which raised hopes the downturn’s low point may be past.

“The dawn is breaking in the Japanese economy,” said Naoki Murakami, chief economist at Monex Securities. “Production has hit bottom.”

Taiwan soared a staggering 6.74 percent on news that institutional investors from mainland China would soon be allowed to buy shares listed on the island’s bourse.

Seoul was up 2.31 percent, Singapore 3.82 percent and Jakarta 4.78 percent as regional bourses marked gains across the board, wiping out losses blamed on the global swine flu outbreak.

Mumbai was closed for a public holiday.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei-225 rose 334.49 points, or 3.94 percent, to 8,828.26.

Investors followed Wall Street’s rally and were boosted by a rise in factory production.

Factory output rose 1.6 percent in March from the previous month, the first increase since September, official data showed.

While the rebound is modest compared with the massive drop seen over the previous five months, “it at least arrests the slide and offers the hope of a more meaningful rebound,” said Rabobank International analyst Jan Lambregts.

However, an official forecast by the Bank of Japan after the market closed said the economy was set to shrink 3.1 percent this year.

Honda Motor surged 9.4 percent to 2,845 yen after forecasting an operating profit of 10 billion yen (US$101.9 million) for the current fiscal year, better than analyst projections for a loss.

But Pioneer slumped 8.2 percent after it said it was considering issuing more shares and hopes to sell its Tokyo headquarters to ease a cash crunch.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed up 564.04 points, or 3.77 percent, at 15,520.99.

Traders said the domestic market is likely to consolidate in the near term following its recent strong rally and on concerns swine flu could hinder the global economic recovery.

“There are fears that the swine flu could do more damage during the long holiday,” Lun told Dow Jones Newswires. “Profit-taking is likely next week as swine flu will weigh on investor sentiment.”

Among the day’s gainers, Tsingtao Brewery advanced 12 percent to HK$20.20 after the company reported a 54 percent growth in first-quarter earnings to 199.4 million yuan ($29.2 million) on higher sales volume.

But China Mobile fell 0.7 percent to HK$67.30 after it agreed to buy a 12 percent stake in Far EasTone Telecommunications for HK$4.07 billion, marking the first Chinese investment in Taiwan.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX200 rose 85.2 points, or 2.31 percent, to 3,780.5.

Resources stocks drove the market to its highest close in almost six months, with BHP Billiton adding 3.10 percent to 33.27 and Rio Tinto up 5.02 percent to 64.43.

There were broad gains among the four major banks led by ANZ, which lifted 3.25 percent to 15.90.

Among energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum rose 2.65 percent to 38.38 while Santos eased 0.24 percent to 16.42.

In Shanghai, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 9.38 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,477.57.

Caution ahead of a long weekend capped the overall market’s gains, traders said.

“Some investors retreated in the afternoon on concerns about swine flu spreading further over the holiday period,” Tang Xiaosheng, an analyst at Guosen Securities, said.

Infrastructure-related stocks such as cement, machinery and real estate led Thursday’s gains. Anhui Conch Cement rose 8.5 percent to 44.37 yuan and Huaxin Cement ended 5.8 percent higher at 26.91 yuan.

In Taipei, the weighted index rose 378.51 points, or 6.74 percent, to 5,992.57.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co rose 6.98 percent to $55.20. Far EasTone Telecommunications gained 6.96 percent to 37.65.

In Seoul, the KOSPI rose 30.94 points, or 2.31 percent, to 1,369.36.

The market was boosted by foreign buyers after South Korea announced a record current account surplus of $6.65 billion in March.

Source: AFP