Asian markets rose Thursday following upbeat earnings results in the region and the United States, while eurozone fears eased slightly on hopes over the funding of future bailouts. The first gain for the Dow in four sessions also provided some support but the euro gave up some of the rare recent gains it had made in New York currency trade. Tokyo was 0.28 percent higher by the break, Sydney gained 0.34 percent and Seoul climbed 0.18 percent but Hong Kong fell 0.20 percent and Shanghai eased 0.10 percent. Regional investors followed the lead from the Dow and most European markets after Spanish borrowing costs fell slightly after hitting record highs on the back of fears Madrid will ask for a bailout. The yield on Madrid’s 10-year bonds eased to a still-high 7.376 percent after soaring to as much as 7.621 percent at one point. Dealers were given some comfort after Austrian central bank chief Ewald Nowotny, a member of the European Central Bank governing council, said the future European Union financial rescue fund might be granted a banking licence. That would allow the fund to exchange bonds for ECB cash, bolstering its capacity without governments having to contribute additional funds.
