1. Asia: Asian stocks rose as hopes of more stimulus from central banks around the world and steps being taken by major economies such as Germany and China soothed investors' fears of a sharp global economic slump. In Japan, the Nikkei225 rose 0.87 percent, while the Topix added 0.62 percent. Overall, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.25 percent.  (Image: Reuters)
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