Asian Stock Markets Close With Gains On Easing Evergrande Fears

Asia's major stock markets closed Thursday with gains, as concerns over China's heavily indebted Evergrande Group eased down.

Having $300 billion in liabilities, China's second-largest property developer Evergrande Real Estate Group came to an agreement with Chinese bond holders on Wednesday.


The markets also welcomed Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday in which the bank said it may start tapering soon.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a news conference that the bank may conclude tapering –the process of scaling back its $120 billion worth of monthly bond purchases – by the middle of 2022.

While tapering could begin in November or December, its postponement provided some relief for markets that were rattled by official tapering timing expectations this week.

Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, gained 16.9 points, or 0.43%, to 3,917 at 1015 GMT.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, rose 289.44 points, or 1.2%, to 24,511.

China's Shanghai stock exchange climbed 13.7 points, or 0.38%, to close at 3,642 points and Singapore index rose by 34.5 points, or 1.13%, to reach 3,082.


The Indian Sensex benchmark saw a rise of 922 points, or 1.56%, to reach 58,859 points.


Japanese markets were closed on Thursday for the Autumnal Equinox Day holiday. -