Indian stock markets opened strong as the central bank slashed the repo and the reverse repo rate by 50 basis points to 5% and 3.5% on Wednesday.

The 30-share index, BSE Sensex belled the day above 8,500 mark at 8,535.03, up 88.54 points, as against its last closure in which it closed with a gain of 19.20 points (0.23%).

Among sectoral indices, the major gainers list included BSE Realty, Metal and Bankex.

Manila  - Philippine share prices rose 2.03 per cent on Thursday buoyed by increases in Asian stock markets and on Wall Street.

The Philippine Stock Exchange's 30-share composite index jumped 38.38 points to close at 1,924.30, from Wednesday's finish of 1,885.92.

A total of 1.31 billion shares valued at 2.76 billion pesos (56.90 million dollars) were traded.

Gainers outpaced losers 51 to 31, with 39 issues unchanged.

Tokyo  - The Japanese market extended gains Thursday as optimism spread that China's economic stimulus measures may help the world economy to recover.

As the National People's Congress, the nominal parliament of the ruling Communist Party, opened Thursday in Beijing, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 196.9 points, or 2.7 per cent, to 7,487.86.

The congress is expected to focus on measures to boost China's economy to overcome the global downturn.

New York - US stocks posted strong gains Wednesday, spurred by a global rally as China prepared to unveil new plans to stimulate its economy.

China's annual National People's Congress opens Thursday. Speculation about a new stimulus package sparked a rise in metals, energy and industrial shares in the United States and across the globe.

Alcoa Inc, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, and Caterpillar Inc all climbed more than 12 per cent.

Goldman Sachs, the investment banking giant, is looking to exit some of its private equity investments through secondary deals. Its 5% stake in the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the country's largest bourse, is one of the major investments on the block, sources familiar with the development said.

They said deals done by Goldman's proprietary desk are on the block. "We are reviewing investments as part of normal course of business," a source at the top US investment bank told DNA Money. "Though we are not looking to sell anything at a loss."

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong shares ended a two-day losing streak Wednesday, rebounding 2.5 per cent on hopes of a new round of economic stimulus measures in China.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index climbed 297.27 points to end the day at 12,331.15. Turnover was 44.9 billion Hong Kong dollars (5.78 billion US dollars).

Wednesday's turnaround followed a dismal start to the week, which saw shares fall by 3.86 per cent Monday and 2.3 per cent Tuesday.