Charting the Markets: Investors Race to Riskier Assets
Stocks Rally in China, Japan on Economic Optimism
Stocks are rallying around the world on expectations China will be able to stabilize its financial markets. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose for a second day, bringing its two-day gain to 5.3 percent. Asian equities, as measured by the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, jumped the most since 2009. The moves came after all three major U.S. indexes - the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite - registered their second biggest gains of 2015.
What a difference a day makes. On Tuesday Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 2.4 percent, erasing all its gains for the year. Today the equity benchmark soared 7.7 percent, its biggest increase since 2008. The gauge has been one of the hardest hit by China's move to devalue its currency. China is Japan's biggest trading partner. Since Aug. 11, the Nikkei slumped 16 percent through Tuesday's close. Only China's Shanghai Composite Index fared worse out of 93 global primary equity indices.