Sydney  - Australian stocks took heart from s

Seoul - Shares jumped Thursday

Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks extended its gains Thursday with key indices rising more than 3 per cent on optimistic US economic data.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average index surged 251.58 points, or 3.01 per cent, to 8,603.49.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also rose 25.7 points, or 3.24 per cent, to 819.52.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar traded at 98.50-55 yen, down from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 98.60-63 yen.

New York  - US stocks posed strong gains Wednesday on better- than-expected data from the US housing, manufacturing and auto sectors.

Sales of existing homes climbed 2.1 per cent in February from the month before, according to the National Association of Realtors, another small sign that the housing downturn that sparked the US economic crisis may be bottoming out.

The Sensex continued to trade strong on constant buying activity witnessed across frontline stocks.

The top performers of the day were realty, IT, consumer durables and metal stocks, where healthcare remained weak.

Secondline stocks were also in public interest. 

Mirroring strong buying action, BSE Midcap and Smallcap index also gained 1.45% and 2.36% respectively. 

Seoul  - Shares surged 2.3 per cen