The MSCI Asia Apex 50 regional index climbed 0.8% towards the end of the day, supported by some positive news on the US economy: in the crucial residential construction sector, new construction is expected to grow and a regional Fed chairman , Jeffrey Lacker, is confident of a 2-2,5% expansion of the US economy next year, despite the more than likely recession in Europe. Even the Australian Reserve Bank underlined the solidity of growth in the Asian area, and the markets of the continent have recovered, after the bad mood linked to the North Korean unknowns.
News from Europe is always tinged with tensions and uncertainty, but perhaps the markets will re-evaluate what is a major initiative by the ECB: the granting of unlimited three-year funds to banks. Given that the ECB cannot - or rather does not want to - carry out 'quantitative easing', it tries to obtain it indirectly, giving unlimited funds to the banks, which could use them, perhaps with a little 'moral suasion', to buy securities sovereigns, even if Draghi talks above all about expanding credit to small and medium-sized enterprises.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-20/asia-stocks-advance-as-kospi-rebounds.html