REGIONAL markets extended their rally on Thursday and have now fought their way back to where they were before the financial crisis struck a year ago.
That is still a long way below the peaks of 2007, but the remarkable rally that began amid the depths of panic and desperation in March is dramatically underlining the region's economic potency.
'The investor pendulum has been swinging towards Asia,' said CIMB-GK regional economist Song Seng Wun. 'The region's recovery prospects look better than anywhere else, and the post-Lehman selldown was probably overdone.'
The Lehman Brothers crash in September last year was the tripwire that sent the global economy into a tailspin, but bourses in the Asia-Pacific region have found traction to stage a recovery.
Wall Street's effort on Wednesday to cross 10,000 points, a surge driven by buoyant US corporate earnings, gave regional markets the push they needed.
The Straits Times Index (STI) closed at a new 13-month high of 2,712.15 points on Thursday, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished at a 14-month peak of 21,999.08, after crossing 22,000 during the day.
Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.77 per cent to 10,238.65, crossing the 10,000 mark for the first time this year, while Australian stocks added 0.6 per cent, bringing the S&P/ASX 200 to a 13-month high of 4,859.90.
The Shanghai market is up 63.7 per cent this year, way above the Dow's 14.1 per cent gain for this year and Britain's FTSE 100 Index's rise of 18 per cent.
The Indian market has surged 78.2 per cent this year, and the Hang Seng is up 52.9 per cent. Back home, the STI has gained 54 per cent for the year, and the Nikkei has added 15.6 per cent.
Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.77 per cent to 10,238.65, crossing the 10,000 mark for the first time this year, while Australian stocks added 0.6 per cent, bringing the S&P/ASX 200 to a 13-month high of 4,859.90.
The Shanghai market is up 63.7 per cent this year, way above the Dow's 14.1 per cent gain for this year and Britain's FTSE 100 Index's rise of 18 per cent.
The Indian market has surged 78.2 per cent this year, and the Hang Seng is up 52.9 per cent. Back home, the STI has gained 54 per cent for the year, and the Nikkei has added 15.6 per cent.
That is still a long way below the peaks of 2007, but the remarkable rally that began amid the depths of panic and desperation in March is dramatically underlining the region's economic potency.
'The investor pendulum has been swinging towards Asia,' said CIMB-GK regional economist Song Seng Wun. 'The region's recovery prospects look better than anywhere else, and the post-Lehman selldown was probably overdone.'
The Lehman Brothers crash in September last year was the tripwire that sent the global economy into a tailspin, but bourses in the Asia-Pacific region have found traction to stage a recovery.
Wall Street's effort on Wednesday to cross 10,000 points, a surge driven by buoyant US corporate earnings, gave regional markets the push they needed.
The Straits Times Index (STI) closed at a new 13-month high of 2,712.15 points on Thursday, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished at a 14-month peak of 21,999.08, after crossing 22,000 during the day.
Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.77 per cent to 10,238.65, crossing the 10,000 mark for the first time this year, while Australian stocks added 0.6 per cent, bringing the S&P/ASX 200 to a 13-month high of 4,859.90.
The Shanghai market is up 63.7 per cent this year, way above the Dow's 14.1 per cent gain for this year and Britain's FTSE 100 Index's rise of 18 per cent.
The Indian market has surged 78.2 per cent this year, and the Hang Seng is up 52.9 per cent. Back home, the STI has gained 54 per cent for the year, and the Nikkei has added 15.6 per cent.
Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.77 per cent to 10,238.65, crossing the 10,000 mark for the first time this year, while Australian stocks added 0.6 per cent, bringing the S&P/ASX 200 to a 13-month high of 4,859.90.
The Shanghai market is up 63.7 per cent this year, way above the Dow's 14.1 per cent gain for this year and Britain's FTSE 100 Index's rise of 18 per cent.
The Indian market has surged 78.2 per cent this year, and the Hang Seng is up 52.9 per cent. Back home, the STI has gained 54 per cent for the year, and the Nikkei has added 15.6 per cent.