Created: 10/30/2009 7:36:42 AM 
BANGKOK (AP) -- Asian stock markets have snapped three days of losses today.
Major benchmarks from Toyko to Sydney gained 1.5 percent or more while oil hovered near $80 a barrel on expectations the U.S. expansion signals improved demand for crude.
In another sign of improving financial and economic conditions, Japan's central bank says it will stop buying corporate debt in December, ending some of the emergency credit measures implemented early this year as it battled recession, plunging markets and a lending freeze. That news came as the world's No. 2 economy reported a drop in unemployment for the second straight month in September.
©2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.
