Reply #4: Asian markets rise as Congress nears auto deal

[ozymandius]

SEOUL, South Korea – Asian markets shrugged off negative economic news to rise Wednesday, underpinned by continued faith in government measures to boost flagging economies as Congress neared a deal to rescue ailing U.S. automakers. European markets were mixed.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 264.37 points, or 3.2 percent, to close at 8,660.24, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 824.52 points, or 5.6 percent, to finish at 15,577.74.

Benchmark indexes in Australia, South Korea, India, China and Singapore also rose. New Zealand's market ended down.

As European trading opened, Germany's DAX advanced 0.3 percent to 4,792.48 but Britain's FTSE-100 fell 0.6 percent to 4,355.25 and France's CAC-40 declined 0.5 percent to 3,282.01.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081210/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets