Asian shares rebound after investors limit risks

Asian stocks rallied yesterday while the US dollar rose to a three-year high as investors scrambled to limit risk.

Australian shares bucked the trend and dropped to the lowest since August 2003 after gross domestic product unexpectedly shrank in the fourth quarter for the first time in eight years, adding to the damage that is tearing through Asia-Pacific economies as the global downturn worsens.

Shares of Hitachi Construction jumped 7 percent and, together with the rest of the machinery sector, lifted Japan's Nikkei share average 0.9 percent. The Nikkei hit a 25-year low on Tuesday.