HONG KONG: Asian equities rallied Thursday following a strong bounce on Wall Street and a breathtaking surge in Europe sparked by a plunge in oil prices and bargain-buying following a Ukraine-fueled rout.A glimmer of hope for peace talks provided some much-needed support to asset markets, which have been in the grip of extreme volatility in the two weeks since Russia invaded its neighbor, sparking a wave of sanctions against Moscow.
Both main contracts were down in Asian trade Thursday but with the war in Ukraine still raging and supplies still tight, expectations are for the commodity to maintain its strength.Meanwhile, the optimists were given a lift after a top foreign policy aide to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the country was prepared to talk about Moscow's demand for it to remain neutral in return for security guarantees.