BANGKOK: Asian stocks enjoyed a vigorous rebound early Tuesday after a pledge by European officials to resolve the region's debt problems helped soothe market sentiment. Oil prices rose to nearly $82 per barrel while the dollar slipped against the euro and the yen. Japan's Nikkei 225 shot up 1.8 per cent to 8,524.56. South Korea's Kospi index jumped 4 per cent to 1,719.72. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 2.6 per cent to 17,860.97. Australia's S&P ASX 200 index was 3.1 per cent higher at 3,983.30. In contrast to weeks of indecision, European ministers told a meeting of global finance leaders in Washington over the weekend that they would take bolder steps to fight the debt crisis. On Monday, President Barack Obama called on Europe's leadership to move more quickly to address the problems. Financial stocks were buoyed by hopes that a plan was in the works to prevent Greece's massive debt problems from unraveling _ an event that could hobble banks with huge holdings of the country's bonds. Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. gained 3 per cent. Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd., the nation's largest lender, rose 3.1 per cent. Hong Kong-listed shares of Agricultural Bank of China, the nation's largest rural lender, jumped 4.6 per cent. On Monday, Wall Street saw its biggest gains in more than two weeks. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 272 points, or 2.5 per cent, to close at 11,043.86 _ the biggest gain since Sept. 7. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 2.3 per cent to 1,162.95. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.4 per cent to 2,516.69. Benchmark oil for November delivery rose $1.74 to $81.98 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 39 cents to finish at $80.24 per barrel Monday on the Nymex. In currencies, euro gained ground against the dollar as investors became more confident that European officials were serious about addressing the Greek debt crisis once and for all. The euro rose to $1.3560 from $1.3472 late Monday in New York. The dollar fell to 76.32 yen from 76.49 yen.

Source