On Thursday, the Asian stock markets closed far low than expected. It has been reported that Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.3% to 8,943.76, which is its lowest since March 15.

Following the tension created by the global financial crunch many Asian markets tumbled down.

South Korea's Kospi snapped out of a two-day winning streak to close down 1.7%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index lost 1.2% and Taiwan's Taiex dropped 1.6%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 1.3%, while China's Shanghai Composite declined significantly.

It is expected that consumer spending in the coming days will witness a strong revival. It is also expected that retail sales in Singapore and various places including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia will see strong growth in the coming months.

The latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Spending Capability has revealed that consumer spending in Singapore has increased by 9.4 points to reach 65.3 points.

The first trading day of 2010 on Monday remained positive for Asian Stock Markets, as most markets touched 17-months high amid hopes of better economic prospectus during the year.

Major European markets, on the other hand, reported mixed response with Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.4 percent while Germany's DAX rose 0.1 percent in early trades. US stock future too rose 0.4 percent, on back of positive news flow.

It has been reported that the US insurance giant AIG, which was recently injected with some major bail-out funds, is looking to list its Asian division in the Hong Kong stock exchange, and float a major initial public offering, by the second-quarter of the coming year. The sale, reportedly, could raise as much as $20 Billion.

AIG had, in May, announced that it is looking to float its American International Assurance offering, and is expected to file an official prospectus anytime before Christmas.

As the focus shifted to the current week's profitable number posted by major world economies, and Dubai's debt woes took a backseat, major stock markets all over the world ticked higher on Wednesday. The European Central Bank's meeting to discuss rates also helped take the focus off Dubai's financial troubles.

All main stock indicators recorded a hike of more than 1%, including the Dow Jones Index, which managed to add 126 points and traded at above 10,500 points for the first time in over a year.

While the land prices soaring new highs, the Southeast Asia’s biggest developer CapitaLand reported a loss of 33 per cent in company’s net profit in comparison of the last year.

The profit for the third quarter of 2009 stood at S$281.3 million, which is down by 33 per cent as compared to the last year, when the company earned S$419.4 million.

Investors are finally welcoming signs of stability in economic outlook, with Asian shares touching higher levels throughout the region.

A prominent rise in stocks in Tokyo was seen due to a healthy showing in export-related companies that were encouraged by a falling yen and a mixed jobs report from the U. S. Furthermore, a rise by 133.83 points, or 1.3% was seen in the Nikkei 225 index to 10,320.94.