Asian shares extend rally on Europe deal, US data

Asian markets extended their rally on Friday from the previous day after European leaders finally came to an agreement on a plan to tackle the region's sovereign debt crisis. Adding to the relief was data from the United States showing the world's biggest economy grew at a strong pace in the three months to September, easing fears of a new recession there. Tokyo gained 1.36 percent by the break, Hong Kong surged 2.35 percent on opening, Sydney added 0.73 percent, Seoul climbed 1.72 percent and Shanghai was 1.26 percent higher. Traders remained bullish after a deal was struck in the early hours of Thursday that will see 100 billion euros ($140 billion) of Greece's debts wiped out, banks reinforce their capital defences and a bailout fund getting a huge boost. "In general, markets are happy that the decision-making process seemed to be finally working and willing to put back the lack of detail on the back burner for another day," said Stewart Hall, a senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets. After painstaking talks late Wednesday and early Thursday French President Nicolas Sarkozy eventually announced that Athens' bondholders had agreed to take a 50 percent cut on the amount of money they were owed. Their agreement completed the final segment of a deal that will also see banks recapitalise in order to withstand the huge losses. The Brussels talks also saw the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) bailout fund, which aims to protect other economies such as Italy and Spain, would be increased from 440 billion euros to more than one trillion euros. Athens will also receive another much-needed rescue package. European stock markets surged, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 up 5.35 percent, the Paris CAC-40 jumping 6.28 percent, and London's FTSE-100 up 2.89 percent. Athens surged 4.82 percent and Milan was 5.49 percent higher. The news also gave a lift to the euro, which has been languishing over the past few months as Europe's leaders seemed unable to work out anything. The common currency hit an eight week high above $1.42 in New York late Thursday before settling at $1.4187. In early Tokyo trade it was sitting at $1.4171. It also rose to 107.73 yen in New York Thursday, well up from 105.98 late Wednesday before the deal was struck. In Tokyo the euro bought 107.53. However, the dollar remained under pressure from the yen, sitting at 75.85, just a little higher than its new post-war low of 75.66 struck in New York. Adding to the upbeat mood was Washington's first estimate of third quarter growth, which was a better-than-expected 2.5 percent, quelling worries that the economy was on the verge of a double-dip recession. The expansion was boosted by stronger consumer spending, the Commerce Department said, with Americans buying more of everything from computers to services. The prospect of the mighty US consumer reaching back to their pocketbooks raised hopes of a more firm-footed recovery after measly annual growth rates of 0.4 and 1.3 percent in the first two quarters. The report sent already lively US stocks higher. The Dow jumped 2.86 percent, the S&P 500 gained 3.43 percent and the Nasdaq rose 3.32 percent. On oil markets New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, was down 34 cents to $93.62 per barrel in morning Asian trade. Brent North Sea crude for December delivery eased 16 cents to $111.92. By 0230 GMT, gold was up at $1,747.02 an ounce, against $1,720.39 late Thursday.