Markets in Asia Buoyed by Signs of Economic Hope

[Mari333]

Source: nyt

HONG KONG — Stock markets rose across the board in the Asia-Pacific region as investors momentarily shrugged off the considerable difficulties still facing the global economic and financial system, and focused instead on fresh signs that the pace of decline is easing.

Late on Wednesday, growth data from the United States showed that gross domestic product there had fallen at an annual pace of 6.1 percent from January through March – hardly a cause for celebration.

But consumer spending rose slightly after six months of declines, while the Federal Reserve said that the pace of economic contraction was “somewhat slower” – snippets of hope that helped send the main American indexes up more than 2 percent by the end of the session.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/business/01markets.html?_r=1&src=twttwt=nytimes

[Doctor Cynic]

1. Must have been surges in medical supply stocks...