Wall Street gains spur Asia markets rally Wednesday 03:30GMT. Wall Street gains spurred a rally in Asian markets, but the rebounds have failed to compensate for an ugly session on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 average climbed 1.8 per cent and the broader Topix rose 1.4 per cent. That makes up for some, but not all, of the 3.1 and 2.3 per cent respective declines registered on Tuesday. The broad rebound follows a 1.1 per cent jump on the S&P 500 on Tuesday - a rise that followed the index's biggest one-day drop since November. Stocks climbed after a report suggested improved momentum in US retail sales during December. "The December report contained a mix of noticeable gains and losses, but the gains carried the day and pushed activity higher, especially outside the auto category," wrote Michael Moran at Daiwa Capital Markets. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.4 per cent, making up for its 0.4 per cent fall on Tuesday. South Korea's Kospi Composite also rebounded, rising 0.4 per cent, erasing Tuesday's 0.2 per cent decline. The global equity rebound suggested that the negative reaction to Friday's "surprisingly soft non-farm payroll appears to have been done," according to analysts at Crédit Agricole. In Hong Kong, stocks eased back after official data for December showed that Chinese banks grew their loan books at a slower rate than analysts" had forecast. The Shanghai Composite index also turned south after the report, falling 0.4 per cent. Chinese banks extended Rmb482.5bn of new loans in December, a 23 per cent contraction on November. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2 per cent, on pace to end a three-session losing streak that included a 1.5 per cent fall on Tuesday. New data showed that Australia vehicle sales in December rose 0.1 per cent from a year ago - the first monthly growth since July. Among the top gainers, Australian copper and gold miner Oz Minerals rose 15 per cent after meeting production targets for 2013. The US retail sales report also lifted the dollar against a basket of currencies, providing further relief in Japan, Korea, and Australia, whose economies benefit from a lower currency. The yen weakened a further 0.2 per cent on Wednesday, after falling 1.2 per cent overnight, to 104.4 per dollar. The Nikkei remains down nearly 4 per cent in January after climbing 57 per cent in 2013. As the dollar strengthens, the price of gold has fallen $3.50 to $1,241.66, a second straight daily loss.