Asian stock markets rise

Asian markets rose as Wall Street banks moved to shore up banking system Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Friday after major Wall Street banks pledged $30 billion in deposits to First Republic Bank in a bid to boost confidence in the banking system. The group of 11 banks included Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.21 percent and Hang Seng Tech added 3.38 percent. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.32 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.77 percent. Japanese stocks rose, with the Nikkei 225 up 0.68 percent and the Topix up 0.74 percent. South Korea’s Kospi also rose 0.66 percent, while the Kosdaq saw a bigger gain of 1.74 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.21% as banks reversed Thursday’s losses and saw small gains. The Nasdaq Composite led the gains, rising 2.48% as investors bought technology stocks on hopes the crisis could prompt the Fed to change its outlook for monetary policy when it meets next week. In the U.S., stocks rose late in the trading day after news of a banking rescue deal, with all three major indexes closing.