BANGKOK: Assurances from the Federal Reserve that the U.S. economic recovery is still on track helped support world markets Thursday, despite some bleak economic data from post-earthquake Japan. Oil prices rose above $113 a barrel to the highest since 2008 as a weakening U.S. dollar made commodities such as crude cheaper for investors with other currencies. The dollar slid against the euro and the yen. In early European trade, Britain's FTSE 100 was 0.1 percent higher to 6,073.71. Germany's DAX rose 0.5 percent, and France's CAC-40 was up 0.7 percent to 4,095.28. Futures augured a flat start for Wall Street. The Fed's promise to keep U.S. interest rates low for an extended period also perked markets. That is expected to support growth in the world's largest economy — a major market for export-reliant nations in Asia and Europe. "With US economic data broadly improving, and the current quarterly earnings season suggesting that corporate America is in pretty good shape, the confirmation of continued accommodative monetary policy should provide an attractive backdrop for further gains across equity markets," Cameron Peacock of IG Markets in Melbourne said in a research report. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.6 percent to close at 9,849.74 after strong earnings from big name companies like Sharp helped boost a thirst for Japanese assets. On Wednesday, Sharp said its annual profit more than quadrupled due to brisk demand for liquid crystal display screens used for game consoles, tablet computers and smartphones. Its shares rose 0.3 percent Thursday. But Sony Corp. shares tumbled 4.5 percent on the heels of a major security breach that may have impacted users around the world. On Tuesday, the company acknowledged that credit card data of PlayStation users may have been stolen in a hack that forced it to shut down its PlayStation Network for the past week, disconnecting 77 million user accounts. Other shares on the move include Panasonic Corp., Japan's biggest home appliance maker, which jumped 2.4 percent after reports said the company will cut its global work force by 40,000 people in a bid to streamline operations. Failing to stem the Nikkei's rise were reports by the Japanese government that industrial output and consumer spending both fell the most on record last month as the March 11 earthquake and tsunami continued to stifle the country's economy. Mainland Chinese shares lost ground Wednesday for a fifth straight trading day on concerns over further monetary tightening measures after the World Bank warned of continuing concerns over inflation. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.3 percent to 2,887.04, while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 2.8 percent to 1,183.70. Food and travel-related shares weakened despite the approaching May Day public holiday. "We can see from the lost interest in travel-related shares, just before a public holiday, that investors are gloomy," said Peng Yunliang, an analyst based in Shanghai. South Korea's Kospi was marginally up to 2,208.35. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 0.4 percent lower at 23,805.63. Benchmarks in Australia and New Zealand rose, while those in Singapore and Taiwan dropped. On Wall Street, stocks rose to another high for the year Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said central bank officials expect the economy to continue recovering as the jobs market strengthens. The Fed said it expects the economy to grow as much as 3.3 percent this year. It now expects the unemployment rate to fall as low as 8.4 percent by the end of the year. The unemployment is currently at a two-year low of 8.8 percent. The Fed also announced that its $600 billion bond-buying program would end as scheduled in June. The Fed repeated its promise to keep interest rates low for "an extended period." That should bode well for stocks, analysts said. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.8 percent to close at 12,690.96. The Dow was already up before Bernanke's appearance and rose another 50 points after the Fed chairman spoke. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.6 percent to 1,355.66. That was its highest price since June 2008. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.8 percent to 2,869.88. Benchmark crude for June delivery was up 51 cents at $113.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude reached $113.70 earlier in the session, the highest since September 2008. The contract rose 55 cents to settle at $112.76 per barrel on the Nymex on Wednesday. In currencies, the dollar's decline deepened after Bernanke signaled that interest rates will stay low for some time. The euro strengthened to $1.4830 from $1.4740 late Wednesday. The dollar weakened to 81.50 yen from 82.24 yen.
