Asia Markets: Tokyo stocks surge over 12%; financials on fire

By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian markets soared Tuesday, with financials leading an across-the-board rally, as governments around the world unveiled plans worth hundreds of billions of dollars to rescue banks and after indexes on Wall Street posted a double-digit surge overnight. The Nikkei 225 Average shot 12.4% higher to 9,296.93 as trading resumed in Tokyo after a Monday holiday, while the broader Topix index recently was up 12.1% at 942.72. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 5.7% to 4,419.90 and South Korea's Kospi added 5.4% to 1,358.69, while New Zealand's NZX 50 index rose 6.8% to 2,971.97. Financials led the advance, with shares of Nomura Holdings Inc. jumping 14.9% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climbing 15.2% in Tokyo, while National Australia Bank jumped 9.4% in Sydney. In Seoul, KB... [read full story]