7:30AM Asian stocks surged Wednesday, led by Japanese financials.
Asian markets finished higher on Wednesday. Tokyo''s 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 180.09 points, or 1.1%, to 15,914.23. shares of Internet and telecom conglomerate Softbank jumped 8.4%, its first gain in six trading sessions. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ , the largest bank in Japan by assets, rose 2.2% while lender Mizuho Financial Group advanced 2%. Department store group Mitsukoshi Ltd rose 3.4% while Fast Retailing operator of the Uniqlo retail chain, gained 1.5%.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 1.3% to end at 19,250.79. Hong Kong property developer Cheung Kong Holdings rose 2.9%. the China Enterprises Index, surged 3.4% to end 8,610.04, led by gains in property and banking shares. Mainland lender China Construction Bank rose 5.1% while China''s largest lending by assets Industrial & Commercial Bank of China.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.6%, led higher by gains in BHP Billiton. The largest mining group in the world rose 2.9%, pacing gains in copper and petroleum prices. Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore Straits Times Index added 0.8%, Malaysia KLSE Composite rose 0.9%, and New Zealand NZX-50 Index closed 0.1% lower. Kospi in South Korea added 1.2% and Indonesia JSX Composite gained 1.1%. Shares listed in Shanghai wiped off earlier losses to trade higher in the afternoon, lifting the Shanghai Composite 0.2%.