US rate cut gives Asia and Iseq a lift

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Japan's Nikkei 225 indexes are both more than 2% higher after a rally from the Dow of 3.5% - its biggest percentage one-day rise for more than five years.

The US Federal Reserve’s 0.75% interest rate cut last night – although smaller than the 1% hoped for by some City watchers – sent Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring by more than 400 points.