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 BEIJING (AP) - From Tokyo to Shanghai to Bombay, Asian stock markets have surged to record highs as investors race to cash in on China's boom and stocks elsewhere are boosted by stronger corporate profits and lower barriers to capital movement.
China's main market index more than doubled in 2006, hitting a record high as the year ended. Investors snapped up shares in banks, retailers and others with a stake in China's dynamo, with economic growth on track to top 10 percent. Hong Kong markets rose on a multibillion-dollar wave of stock offerings by mainland companies.
"There is really no other economy in the whole world that has the size of the Chinese economy and is growing at the same rate," said Lan Xue, head of China research for Citigroup Inc. "Clearly we are seeing a huge appetite for Chinese equity."
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