Asian stocks closed mixed on Friday with investors following domestic leads and taking profits while negative sentiment stemming from Wall Street's falls also weighed on sentiment.
Sydney fell in line with a similar performance by base metal prices, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur were down amid lingering concerns over interest rates and Wellington fell on weakness in blue chips.
Weaker Asian trends led Mumbai lower and Tokyo was flat, but elsewhere modest gains were notched-up in Taipei, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul.
Bangkok outperformed on the day with a 1.24 percent rise amid signs that political tensions surrounding Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's leadership could be easing after he met with King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
However, uncertainty returned after trade when Thaksin announced he had dissolved the lower house of parliament, opening the way for a snap election.
In Taipei share prices closed 0.98 percent higher on a technical rebound after heavy recent losses made on concerns about President Chen Shui-bian's (
Dealers said the market had been under pressure from concern that Chen's China policy could provoke a harsh response, but this opened up an opportunity for bargain hunting.
The TAIEX rose 63.53 points to its high of 6,538.22, off a low of 6,473.80, on turnover of NT$81.74 billion (US$2.52 billion).
"A technical rebound after a steep decline for three straight sessions was far from a big surprise," said Oliver Fang, a Yuanta Core Pacific Securities (
Tokyo
Tokyo share prices closed firmer, recovering from early losses as bargain hunters emerged to buy on the dips, encouraged by the recent return of foreign investors.
Dealers said that trade was cautious, however, amid jitters about strong hints from the central bank pointing to a tightening of monetary policy which pushed the yen up to a one-month high, putting exporters under pressure.
The NIKKEI-225 index added 5.81 points to 16,101.91 on turnover of 1.89 billion shares.
Share prices got off to a weak start as the yen rose and market sentiment was hurt by strong hints on Thursday from Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui that the central bank will soon end its super-loose monetary policy.
"Share prices had been softer due mainly to a rise in the value of the yen against the dollar, which was caused by Fukui's comments but some investors chased bargains later, pushing the NIKKEI index above the key 16,000 level," said Hideo Mizutani, chief strategist at Sieg Securities.
Seoul share prices closed 0.34 percent higher on institutional investor support, and with autos and KTG leading the rise.
Dealers said intensified program buying helped the index end near its strongest level for the day, offsetting massive profit-taking by retail investors ahead of the weekend.
The KOSPI index closed up 4.59 points at 1,365.82.
Hong Kong share prices closed 0.28 percent higher as index heavyweight HSBC attracted buying interest amid fresh speculation that it might make an acquisition.
Dealers said the market's gains were capped by caution ahead of the expiry of February futures contracts tomorrow.
The Hang Seng index closed up 43.52 points at 15,856.05.
Shanghai
Shanghai share prices closed 0.60 percent higher, continuing firmer as steelmakers and real estate developers found some support.
Dealers said the steel sector got a boost after the industry's largest firm, Baoshan Iron and Steel, announced a series or price hikes while the market overall attracted follow-through interest after Thursday's modest gains.
At the same time, strong resistance remains in place at 1,300 points on the Shanghai Composite Index and it may take some special lead to get through it.
The Shanghai A-share Index added 8.07 points to 1,359.86, while the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 2.45 points or 0.76 percent at 326.91. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B-shares, added 8.02 points or 0.62 percent at 1,296.87.
Steelmakers gained ground after Baoshan Iron and Steel announced price hikes and reports said Arcelor had won initial approval to buy a 38.41-percent stake in Laiwu Steel Corp (
Sydney share prices closed 0.40 percent lower after a fall in metal prices sparked profit-taking. The fall came after a week in which investors were buoyed by solid earnings reports. The SP/ASX 200 dropped 19.8 points to 4,893.4 while the broader All Ordinaries Index dropped 17.9 points to 4,849.4.
Singapore share prices closed 0.74 percent higher, boosted by gains in blue chips such as Singapore Airlines and diversified conglomerate Keppel Corp. The Straits Times Index rose 18.09 points to 2,453.67 after breaking the psychological resistance level of 2,450.
Malaysian share prices closed 0.28 percent lower on fears of rising inflation and interest rates with sentiment also undermined by Wall Street's overnight losses.
The composite index was down 2.60 points at 924.91 on volume of 659.67 million shares.
Bangkok share prices closed 1.24 percent higher as investor confidence returned to the market amid an apparent easing of political uncertainty. The composite index gained 9.12 points to 741.80 on turnover of 4.2 billion shares.
In Jakarta share prices closed 0.66 percent lower, led by state Bank Mandiri and gas firm PGN amid continued concerns over possible disappointing earnings results for last year. The composite index fell for the fourth consecutive day, down 8.024 points at 1,216.140.
Manila share prices closed 1.02 percent lower as Philippine President Gloria Arroyo declared a state of emergency to crush what she described as a coup attempt.
Dealers said the market traded lower for most of the session, with selling more intense following the president's announcement, but there were investors who quickly picked up the bargains and limited the day's fall.
The composite index ended down 21.39 points at 2,069.93. Volume was 1.27 billion shares.
Wellington share prices closed 0.49 percent lower after leading stocks dragged the market lower.
The NZSX-50 gross index fell 16.55 points to 3,377.84.
Mumbai share prices closed down 0.42 percent, snapping a four-day gaining streak, as weak Asian markets and investor caution ahead of Tuesday's budget led investors to book profits.
The 30-share SENSEX index fell 43.29 points to 10,200.76.
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