Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - The Asian markets have made strong gains following a last minute agreement on the "fiscal cliff" by the U.S. Congress. In a bipartisan vote, Congress approved an increase in taxes that would affect only the wealthiest sections of the country, saving small and medium companies. In this way the implementation of an automatic reduction of costs and a relatively indiscriminate tax increase to the tune of 600 billion dollars (the "cliff") has been avoided. The agreement gives hope - at least for the moment - that the world's largest economy will not slip into recession, dragging all other economies in its wake.
The Hong Kong index rose 1. 9% to Seoul 1.5, one of Australia 1.2.
All shares - excluding Japan - grew by 20%, the highest in the last five months.
The apparent market optimism was also supported by other regional economic data. In December, China's manufacturing activity grew for the third consecutive month. The official PMI index in December was 50.6. Anything above 50 is a sign of expansion. Even in South Korea there are signs of growth in the manufacturing sector.
The dollar has fallen in value (0.4%) and the euro is trading at 1.3267. The yen continues its discreet descent, with the expectation that the Bank of Japan will facilitate loans, according to the policies of Shizno Abe's new government.
All these considerations seem temporary. The U.S. Congress vote is just a small step. The next big problem in the U.S. is how to control the federal deficit: in February there will certainly be a fight on exceeding the limit laid down for now at 16.4 trillion dollars.
