Asian stocks gain after Wall Street rally on economic data

TOKYO (AP) — Asian stocks jumped Wednesday after encouraging signs of strength in the U.S. economy sent shares higher on Wall Street.
KEEPING SCORE: A weak yen added to investor optimism, sending Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 up 4.1 percent to close at 16,746.55. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.6 percent to 1,947.42 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.9 percent to 5,083.50. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 3.3 percent to 20,046.86, while the Shanghai Composite Index clim