Asia This Day:Sunny Asian Markets;New Zealand Deals With Downpour

The Australian and New Zealand dollars rose Monday on the recovery of risk appetite.
New Zealand is expecting more heavy rainfall as residents assess the damage from a weekend deluge.At least 90 homes in the Tasman district experienced some flooding,and swells of up to four metres were noted at Astrolabe Reef in the Bay of Plenty.
There was also concern that a cargo of plastic beads was spreading over beaches after a shipping container aboard the shipwreck Rena was damaged by the storm.
India's Nifty Fifty index rose 0.55% Monday with most sectors showing strength,except for the IT sector that was dragging the market down a bit.Reliance was up 0.99% and Bharat Petroleum climbed 0.90%.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index rose 0.6% ,led by consumer and telecoms shares.Asian stocks were up generally Monday on Japanese exporters rallying because of the weak yen,as the G20 developed nations didn't object to Japan's policy stimulus.The G20 feel that the Bank of Japan's plan to buy seven trillion yen,or 70.02 billion dollars,of bonds per week will boost both the Japanese recovery and the global economy,according to Rajiv Biswas,chief economist for the Asia Pacific at IHS Global Insight.
The Nikkei 225 index rose 2.00%,while the ASX 200 gained 0.49%.Gold surged 1.78% to 1420.40 an ounce as hedge funds found it to be a bargain after last week's collapse.

Asia This Day:China's Rising Trade Stature;Goodman Group's Plan

Goodman Group,Australia's biggest industrial property trust,will begin warehouse and office building developments worth A451 million dollars across the country.The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute Inflation Gauge rose by 0.3% in January to an annual rate of 2.5%,in the middle of the government's 2-3% target range,on costlier fruits,vegetables and utilities.
The China Services PMI rose for the fifth straight month.Services make up about 45% of China's GDP;the government target is 47%.China topped the US as the world's largest trading nation in 2012.China's total imports and exports were 3.87 trillion dollars;US total trade was 3.82 trillion.Chinese export growth alone was double digit,up 25%.
China is investing in the US on a vast scale,spending more than 10 billion dollars last year on the AMC movie chain;the A123 Battery Company;and AIG's aviation business.
Many Asian markets are closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.Australia,the Philippines and Indonesia are open for business.Indonesia is seeing 4.57% inflation on a 44% rise in minimum wages and a 15% increase in electricity prices.
Reliance Industries Ltd's Chairman Mukesh Ambani said the US will be energy independent by 2020 on shale oil and gas,which will drive economic growth.India's new MCX Stock Exchange is to start trading today.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific index was up 0.07% in early Monday trading.
Goodman Group Ltd(ASX:GMG)

Asia This Day:Russian Advances at Australian Open;Reliance India

At the Australian Open,the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific,Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova upset Dane Caroline Wozniacki 2-6,6-2,7-5 to advance to the quarter finals.Victoria Azarenka of Belarus also advanced,defeating Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1,6-1.
On Sunday,Serb Novak Djokovic defeated Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in a 5-hour marathon match 1-6,7-5,6-4,6-7,12-10.It is being called one of the best Australia Open matches in history.
American Serena Williams will be playing Russian Maria Kirilenko for another quarter final berth today.
All US men and Australians have been eliminated from singles competition.
The tennis tournament is being sponsored by KIA Motors,ANZ Bank,Rolex,IBM and Jacob's Creek Winery.
India's Nifty Fifty futures were up in early Monday trading as Reliance Industries Ltd reported better than expected earnings.
The Australian housing market is more affordable than New Zealand's,a survey shows.
Gold and silver prices were up,and oil rose as well in early Monday trading.
Update:Serena Williams defeated Maria Kirilenko 6-2,6-0.She must now play fellow American Sloane Stephens,who is 19 years old and the top-ranked teenager in the world.
iShares Australia Index Fund(EWA)