Asia markets rising

Asian markets rose Tuesday, snapping a string of losses, as a weaker yen boosted Japanese shares.

A flurry of corporate deals in Europe and the U.S. suggested companies have greater confidence in the economic recovery. The deal announcements - regarded as a sign companies are becoming more willing to part with cash to expand - helped lift the
Dow Jones industrials into positive territory for the month, giving it a 0.7 percent gain.

Japan led Asia's advance as weakness in the yen lifted exporter stocks like Toyota Motor Corp. Oil hung below $74 a barrel amid expectations OPEC will leave production levels unchanged at today's meeting.

Asian stocks have rallied massively from their March lows but gains have dimmed since November amid worries that markets have gotten ahead of the patchy recovery in the global recovery.

Economic news lately has shown that Asia is rebounding quickly from the recession, helped by lavish government stimulus spending, but the U.S. -one of the biggest markets for the region's exports - remains sluggish.


In Tokyo trade, the Nikkei 225 stock average was up 132.17 points, or 1.3 percent, at 10,315.64 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 243.38, or 1.2 percent, to 21,191.48. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.5 percent to 1,652.36.

Monday in the U.S., the Dow rose 85.25, or 0.8 percent, to 10,414.14, after rising as much as 129 points earlier in the day.

Oil rose 1 cent to $73.73 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.