Asian stock markets recorded sharp gains Wednesday, helped by a jump in commodity prices and hopes that the U.S. banking system is showing sings of buoyancy.  In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average jumped 2.1% to 9,991.49 and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong surged more than 4% to close at 18,785.66.  Japanese investors shrugged off a report that suggested core machinery orders, a closely watched indicator of corporate capital spending, plunged to a 22-year low in April. South Korea's benchmark Kospi jumped 3.1% and India's Sensex added 2.3%.   

Yesterday, Wall Street responded with a yawn to Obama Administration's announcement that 10 of the largest banks could repay $68 billion of government bailout cash.  Although Treasury Secretary Geithner, appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, noted the repayment of the bailout money was a sign of "financial repair," stocks swung back and forth in a narrow range, signaling