Tokyo - Asian stock markets staged strong rallies Monday, with Japan's key Nikkei 225 Stock Average closing above the 9,000-point threshold, following the announcement of an economic stimulus packa

Tokyo - Asian stock markets staged strong rallies Monday, with Japan's key Nikkei 225 Stock Average closing above the 9,000-point threshold, following the announcement of an economic stimulus packa

Tokyo  - Japan's key Nikkei 225 Stock Average Monday crossed the 9,000-point threshold, up more than 5 per cent thanks to a strong rally on Wall Street last week and the US dollar's advance against the yen.

The Nikkei index soared 498.43 points, or 5.81 per cent, to close at 9,081.43.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 37.65 points, or 4.28 per cent, to 916.65.

Tokyo  - Japan's foreign reserves totaled 977.72 billion dollars in October, down 18.17 billion dollars from the previous month, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

Japan held 853.02 billion dollars in foreign securities and 102.05 billion dollars in foreign currency deposits at the end of October.

Foreign reserves shrank as Japan's euro-based assets declined as the currency's value fell against the dollar, amid spreading fear over the global financial crisis, Japanese media said.

Tokyo - Japan's key machinery orders recorded the largest fall since 1998 during the July-September period, a government report said Monday.

The key machinery orders fell 10.4 per cent during the three months compared to the previous quarter, indicating that the corporate capital spending has been weakening, the Cabinet Office said.

The core orders, which exclude those for ships and power equipment, amounted to 2.88 trillion yen (29.32 billion dollars).

Tokyo  - Japan's key Nikkei 225 Stock Average Monday crossed the 9,000-point threshold, ending morning trading up more than 5 per cent thanks to a strong rally on the US market before the weekend.

The Nikkei index surged 470.9 points, or 5.49 per cent, to 9,053.9.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 36.52 points, or 4.15 per cent, to 915.52.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 98.97-99.02 yen, up from Friday's 5 pm quote of 97.58-60 yen.