The global equities sell-off ground to a halt today as Asian stocks had their biggest gains in five years. Responding to Friday’s cut in the US Federal Reserve’s discount rate, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi indexes all saw huge gains as panic over the US subprime mortgage crisis largely subsided.
Morgan Stanley’s Asia-Pacific Index climbed 4.2%, its biggest hike since 2002, after losing 8% last week. Though most stocks are still down since the sell-off began, optimism was widespread, with analysts declaring that global markets would see growth in spite of the US credit issues. (More Hang Seng stories.)