Asia, Europe Rally, US Futures Soar

Asian markets soared today and European exchanges opened higher as investors expressed optimism about the Obama administration's public-private asset purchase plan. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng rallied 4.1% to close at a five-week high, while the Nikkei in Tokyo closed up 3.4%. At midmorning bourses in London and Frankfurt were both up by about 1.5%, and in New York Dow and Nasdaq futures pointed to big gains.
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