Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened higher Wednesday on Wall Street's overnight rebound and a weaker yen.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 156.26 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 13,315.71.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 13.13 points, or 1.02 per cent, to 1,294.77.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 108.06-09 yen, up from Tuesday's 5 pm quote of 107.55-58 yen. A weaker yen helps boost Japanese firms' earnings overseas.

Indian equities fell over 550 points, on Tuesday (July 29), because of CRR and Repo rate hike, hopeless worldwide signals and heavy selling action across the board.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised the CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) by 25 basis points to 9%. On the other hand, Repo rate has also been augmented by 50 basis points from 8.50% earlier.

However the Bank Rate kept unchanged.

After opening negatively (Tuesday, July 29) at 14,085.53, the 30-share Index slipped further on account of CRR and Repo rate hike news.

New York

New York  - Major US stock indices rallied on Tuesday, led by surging steel profits, lower oil prices and a jump in financial stocks despite some worrying new housing data.

US Steel Corp, the second-largest US steel producer, climbed 14 per cent after more than doubling its profits in the second quarter of the year. An index of steelmakers jumped by the most since 2002, according to Bloomberg financial news.

Crude oil fell more than 2.50 dollars to 122.19 dollars per barrel in New York, part of a weeks-long drop since topping 140 dollars per barrel in early July.

New Delhi - India's benchmark Sensex index tumbled 4.2 per cent in trading on Tuesday afternoon on heavy selling by funds and investors after the Federal Reserve Bank of India hiked its key interest rate.

The 30-share index lost 606.41 points and was trading at 13,742.70 points at mid-session soon after the RBI announced the hike in a quarterly review of the monetary policy.

Market analysts said weak global markets had a negative impact on trading in the domestic bourses.

Seoul - Shares nosedived Tuesday on the Seoul stock exchange