BANGKOK ? Asian stock markets were mostly higher Friday following signs of progress in debt plagued Europe ? a successful bond sale in Italy and the naming of a new leader in Greece.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.4 percent to 19,035.94 and South Korea's Kopsi added 1.2 percent to 1,835.34. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2 percent at 4,251.70. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand also rose.
After opening higher, Japan's Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.1 percent to 8,492.36,
Investors were calmed after Greece ? which is struggling to pull back from the brink of bankruptcy ? named Lucas Papademos, a respected economist, as its new prime minister on Thursday.
An additional sign of stability came after Italy was able to borrow $6.8 billion at lower interest rates than analysts expected. On Wednesday, the rise in Italy's 10-year bond yield to well over 7 percent stoked panic in financial markets that the country was heading toward a Greece-style debt crisis.
Traders are also fretting that debt troubles in Italy and Greece could blow up into a massive liquidity crisis and lead to a global financial meltdown.
In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1 percent to close at 11,893.86. It plunged 389 points Wednesday after Italy's borrowing rates soared and talks in Greece to name a new prime minister broke down.
Positive economic data from the U.S. also boosted hopes that the world's No. 1 economy would avoid a double dip recession.
The Labor Department reported early Thursday that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell to 390,000 last week ? the fewest since April. The data suggested layoffs are easing and that the economy grew slightly better over the summer than estimated.
The S&P 500 index gained 0.9 percent to 1,239.70. The Nasdaq rose 0.1 percent to 2,625.15.
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