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Asian bourses end mixed week in volatile trading

Asian stocks closed mixed in volatile trade on Friday amid persistent fears over further US interest rates hikes to combat inflation, which could force regional central banks to follow suit.

Wild swings between buyers and sellers occurred on many bourses as investors positioned their portfolios to take account of a possible change in rates as well as fluctuations in the currency and commodity markets.

But by day's end most benchmarks had registered only modest losses, or mild gains, providing some relief after billions of US dollars were wiped off in a brutal sell-down over the previous trading week.

Whether markets can be shored-up -- in light of unexpectedly high inflation data out of the US which sparked the plunge -- remains to be seen however most dealers were adamant economic fundamentals for the region remain solid.

Tokyo, like others in Asia, reversed early losses to close 0.42 percent higher. Sydney was up 0.36 percent, Seoul 0.52 percent, Hong Kong by 0.29 percent and Taipei was up 0.57 percent.

Mumbai was the worst with a 3.9 percent fall after Thursday's seven percent crash. Manila continued its fall with 0.96 percent drop completing a rout on a rally that took the benchmark to a seven year high. Elsewhere, mild losses were registered in Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.

Taipei

Share prices rose 0.57 percent as late bargain hunting offset earlier falls driven by Wall Street's overnight decline amid continued concerns over high interest rates.

Dealers said foreign investors have started building new positions after several days of selling, pushing the composite index sharply lower.

The weighted index closed up 40.12 points at 7,074.15 on turn-over of NT$106.42 billion (US$3.33 billion).

"Investors were willing to hunt for bargains after a recent correction of more than 400 points [on the index]," said Johnny Lee, a manager with President Securities.

The steel sector rallied on expectations of firmer product prices for the third quarter, Lee said, noting some major Asian steelmakers are due to unveil their products quotations next week.

The financial stocks gained strength after a report that Taiwan Fire Marine Insurance Co Ltd has secured China's regulatory approval to set up a representative office in Shanghai.

tokyo

Share prices closed slightly higher, reversing early losses after a weakening of the yen encouraged bargain hunters to snap up stocks from their 10-week lows.

It was only the second trading day in nine that the index has closed higher, with investors nervous about the impact on exporter profits of the firmer yen and what direction US interest rates will take.

The Nikkei-225 index gained 68.27 points or 0.42 percent to 16,155.45. Volume was 1.90 billion shares, down from 2.02 billion on Thursday.

The Tokyo market opened weaker, tracking losses in US stocks overnight amid worries about further increases in interest rates there.

Seoul

Share prices rebounded 0.52 percent on bargain hunting led by retail and institutional investors after heavy losses over the weak on concerns about the outlook for US interest rates.

Dealers said this week's downturn has likely taken some of the froth out of the market given the record breaking run this year and that should be positive going forward.

The KOSPI index closed up 7.14 points at 1,372.29. Volume was 286 million shares worth 3.4 trillion won (US$3.6 billion).

"The correction over the past couple of days is natural as the market has risen without pause," said Kyobo Securities analyst Lee Woo-Hyun, suggesting there could be more gains in the coming week as the market stabilizes.

Samsung Electronics fell 3,000 to 638,000.

Hong Kong

Share prices closed 0.29 percent higher as investors covered short positions after Thursday's sell-off.

Dealers said the market opened lower following Wall Street's continued slide overnight but recovered by the end of the morning session on the view that the recent sell-off may have been overdone.

The Hang Seng Index rose 46.84 points at 16,313.36. Turnover was 29.42 billion Hong Kong (US$3.78 billion).

"There's been a big shakeout this week and investor sentiment was certainly rattled in markets around the world. But most investors believe that most of the damage has already been done," said Howard Gorges, vice chairman at South China Securities.

He said many investors went on bargain-hunting and short-covering on Friday, helping the market end with mild gains.

shanghai

Share prices closed sharply higher, adding 2.63 percent on fresh fund inflows with market heavyweight steelmakers and banks driving the gains.

Dealers said the market had quickly got over its concerns Thursday about the resumption of Initial Public Offerings, with speculative money in evidence on the view that the recent upturn has much further to go yet.

Some believe that stocks can even benefit from government efforts to cool the property market since funds will seek a new home in the bourse if they are forced out of real estate.

The fact the government has been trying to get the market off the ground after years in the doldrums would suggest that the authorities may indeed be reluctant to take any measures that could undercut the recent advance.
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