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World stocks rally after Japan's Nikkei jumps 7.2 percent

 
The Nikkei 225 rallied Monday from last week’s slump to post its second-biggest one-day gain in three years.
The Nikkei 225 rallied Monday from last week’s slump to post its second-biggest one-day gain in three years.
Published Feb. 16, 2016

HONG KONG — World stocks rallied Monday, led by a jump in Japan's main index, amid hopes for more stimulus from central banks in Europe and Japan.

With Wall Street closed for Presidents Day, or Washington's Birthday (the holiday's official name), Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 soared 7.2 percent to close at 16,022.58, rebounding from last week's slump to post its second-biggest one-day gain in three years.

That led to big gains in Europe, where Britain's FTSE 100 closed 2 percent higher at 5,824.28 and Germany's DAX gained 2.7 percent to 9,206.84. France's CAC 40 rose 3 percent to close at 4,115.25.

Stocks began rallying after government data showed Japan's economy shrank at an annual rate of 1.4 percent last quarter because of weak consumer demand and slower exports. It's a setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic revival program, which aims to stoke inflation through massive monetary easing. The report, though, also gives the government more reason to open the stimulus taps wider to restore growth, economists said.

"Together with the recent slump in the Nikkei and the appreciation of the yen, the case for additional easing remains compelling," said Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics.

Investor sentiment was also bolstered by comments from China's central bank chief playing down the likelihood of a one-off devaluation of the yuan.

Later in the day, stocks were nudged higher and the euro fell sharply after the European Central Bank reiterated that more stimulus would be considered at the next policy meeting in March.

The euro was down 1 percent at $1.1138 after ECB chief Mario Draghi said Monday there were "a variety of instruments" the ECB could employ if it decided more stimulus is needed. It could pump more money into the economy or cuts rates further, something that would weigh on the value of the euro.

U.S. futures, meanwhile, rose. Dow futures up 1.2 percent and those for the S&P 500 up 1.3 percent.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.5 percent to 1,862.20 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 3.3 percent to 18,918.14. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.6 percent to 4,843.50. Taiwan's benchmark was flat while markets in Southeast Asia gained.

The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China, though, lost 0.6 percent to finish at 2,746.20 after reopening following the Lunar New Year holiday.