Asian stock indexes reflect Dow rally in early trading

By YURI KAGEYAMA, Associated Press

Feb 6, 2018 7:00 PM CST

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Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. The Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 500 points in early trading, bringing the index down 10 percent from the record high it reached on Jan. 26. The DJIA quickly recovered much of that loss. (AP... (Associated Press)

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese and Korean benchmarks were recouping losses from the day before in early Wednesday trading, mirroring a similar "correction" rally on Wall Street.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 surged as soon as trading began, adding 2.9 percent to 22,230.73 within the first hour of trading. South Korea's Kospi also rose at its opening, and was trading up 0.5 percent at 2,467.50 in morning trading. Among the biggest losers Tuesday was the Nikkei 225, which had ended 4.7 percent lower. South Korea's Kospi had declined 1.5 percent.

WALL STREET: U.S. stocks saw a late surge that helped them regain almost half their losses from the day before. After its 1,175-point nosedive Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 567 points right after trading began. The Dow finished 567.02 points higher, or 2.3 percent, at 24,912.77.The Standard & Poor's 500 index, a broader market barometer that many index funds track, climbed 46.20 points, or 1.7 percent, to 2,695.14. The Nasdaq composite rose 148.36 points, or 2.1 percent, to 7,115.88.

GLOBAL CORRECTION: Corrections are seen as entirely normal during bull markets, and even helpful in curbing excessive gains and allowing new investors to buy into the market at lower prices. It has been an uncommonly long time since the last market correction, which ended almost two years ago.

ENERGY: U.S. crude oil added 45 cents to $63.84 a barrel. It fell 76 cents, or 1.2 percent, to close at $63.39 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, rose 36 cents to $67.22 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar recovered to 109.42 yen from 108.61 yen late Tuesday. The euro was trading at $1.2383.