MARKETS

Tokyo, Seoul Stocks Spike

Rocket launch can’t halt impressive gains.

Here’s one positive, unexpected side effect of North Korea’s brazen launch over the weekend: Asian markets felt little consequence and actually climbed in the early hours of trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Average gained 1.8 percent while South Korea’s Kospi added 2.1 percent. "Markets have learnt from when [such] incidents happened before, that if it's a short-term fall, then the markets bounce back very quickly. The correct assumption is there are no lingering, or unlikely to be any lingering economic implications," said an Asia strategist about the launch’s significance. Honda, Sony, and Samsung stocks all saw gains. Might this be the beginning of a swift turnaround?