Asian stock markets rose today, with Tokyo's index up nearly 2 percent, as gains on Wall Street offset alarming new signs the region's economies were slowing faster than expected amid plummeting demand for their goods. European shares also opened higher, according to AP. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average gained 150.1 points, or 1.9 percent, to 8,051.74, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 0.6 percent at 12,657.99 though was well off its high for the session. South Korea's Kospi added 1.1 percent to 1,116.23, while markets in mainland China, Australia, Singapore and India also gained. In Europe, benchmarks in Britain, Germany and France climbed 2 percent or more in early trade. Wall Street futures were pointing to gains in the U.S. on Thursday. Dow futures rose 12 points, or 0.2 percent, to 8,190 and S&P500 futures gained 0.3 points to 837.10. Despite rises in most global markets, trade was relatively cautious in Asia amid a maelstrom of bad news about the region's biggest economies. China's economic slump deepened in the fourth quarter, with growth sliding to a seven-year low of 6.8 percent from 9 percent the previous quarter and 10.6 percent in the first quarter. For the full year, China's economy expanded by 9 percent _ its slowest yearly growth since 2001. In Japan, exports plunged at a record pace of 35 percent in December, marking a third straight month of decline, the government reported. South Korea's economy shrank in the fourth quarter, contracting from the previous year for the first time in a decade, when the country was reeling from the Asian financial crisis.
