DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for a check on how the Asian markets fared overnight. We turn to Janine Graham in Hong Kong for a look at how the markets fared -- good morning, Janine.</s>JANINE GRAHAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, David. Well, investors in Tokyo helped the Nikkei lead Asian markets upward on Wednesday, closing over 4 percent higher. The Nikkei was buoyed by the powerful rally in the U.S. Semiconductor and telecom stocks were the big winners there: Telecom giant KDDI, one of the biggest gainers, shooting up nearly 10 percent; and chip maker Tokyo Electron also posting strong gains, picking up over 9.25 percent. Despite the market's rally, there are further signs that a slowing world economy is hurting Japan's vital export industry. The country's current account surplus fell more than 8 percent in February to about $10 billion. And much of that was due to a 20 percent fall in its trade surplus. We're checking how other markets in the Asian region fared. Here in Hong Kong, investors were also in a buying mood, driving the Hang Seng more than 4 percent higher. And in Korea, impressive gains there as well: The KOSPI picked up 3.33 percent. And the tech sensitive KOSDAQ closed up more than 4 percent. And that's the business day here in Asia -- now back to you in New York.</s>HAFFENREFFER: All right, Janine, thank you very much.
Nikkei Leads Asian Markets Higher