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ASIA: Asian stocks rise on insurers' rescue plan

Asian stocks rose for the second week this year, led by financial companies and oil producers, on speculation a planned rescue of US bond insurers will contain credit-market losses and after crude oil climbed to a record.

HSBC Holdings Plc had its biggest weekly gain in five months following a report that Ambac Financial Group Inc made progress in a rescue deal and after Standard & Poor's kept its debt ratings on the US bond insurer and that of rival MBIA Inc.

PetroChina Co rose as the price of oil exceeded US$103 a barrel for the first time.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 2.7 percent this week to 147.55, paring its loss for this year to 6.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 0.8 percent this week.

TAIPEI

Taiwan share prices closed 0.58 percent lower as Wall Street's overnight weakness prompted investors to take profits following a recent rally in the local bourse.

The weighted index closed down 49.32 points at 8,412.76.

Wang Chao-li, an assistant vice president at Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券), said investors in the domestic market took note of Wall Street's drop, while the local currency's continued appreciation had both negative and positive effects on stocks.

Electronics exporters and insurance firms with hefty overseas investment suffered owing to fears of forex losses resulting from the firmer New Taiwan dollar.

However, "the currency gains served as catalyst for local construction firms and those holding large real estate [stocks]," Chao said.

Bellwether electronics and financial stocks lost steam on fears of forex losses owing to the strong performance of the Taiwan dollar recently.

TOKYO

Share prices slumped more than 2 percent as losses on Wall Street, a stronger yen and soaring oil prices spooked investors.

Dealers said markets were rattled by downbeat comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, while a raft of Japanese data failed to ease market concerns about the health of the domestic economy.

The Nikkei-225 index fell 322.4 points to 13,603.02.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong share prices closed 1.1 percent lower, ending a three-day rally, on profit-taking in property stocks and weakness in HSBC ahead of its results announcement.

The Hang Seng index closed down 260.02 points at 24,331.67.

SYDNEY

Australian share prices ended down 1.4 percent as banking and other financial stocks fell.

Dealers said the finance sector led the market down after Bernanke's comments that small banks in the US could collapse amid the ongoing subprime credit crisis.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 79.1 points at 5,572.1.

SHANGHAI

Chinese share prices closed 1.14 percent higher on improving liquidity after investors who failed to obtain shares in a major IPO reinvested their funds elsewhere.

Dealers said the release of funds from China Railway Construction's 22.25 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) initial public offering helped spark a fresh round of buying, they said.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, rose 49.03 points to 4,348.54 on turnover of 75.52 billion yuan.

SEOUL

South Korean share prices closed 1.4 percent on worries about rising US unemployment and the possibility of more bank failures.

The KOSPI index closed down 24.55 points at 1,711.62.

SINGAPORE

Singapore share prices closed 1.55 percent lower following Wall Street's lead after fresh economic data renewed fears of a recession in the world's biggest economy.

The Straits Times Index closed down 47.70 points at 3,026.45.

KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysian share prices closed 0.8 percent lower as cautious investors sold down on selected bluechips.

The composite index lost 10.87 points at 1,357.40.

BANGKOK

Thai share prices closed 0.43 percent higher on gains in energy stocks but buying was limited as investors waited for a central bank announcement on ending currency controls.

The announcement was made moments after the market closed.

The composite index rose 3.64 points to 845.76.

MANILA

Philippine share prices closed 0.6 percent higher on Friday as cautious optimism over corporate results outweighed domestic political concerns.

The composite index added 17.14 points to 3,129.99.

WELLINGTON

New Zealand share prices closed flat as solid reporting from some companies was countered by a broader market weakness.

The NZX-50 index gained a mere 3.15 points to 3,582.72.

MUMBAI

Indian share prices fell 1.38 percent as India's Congress party-led government announced a populist pre-election budget, including a US$15 billion loan bailout for small farmers.

Dealers said the market also reacted negatively to a proposal to raise the tax on short-term capital gains to 15 percent from 10 percent.

The 30-share SENSEX index fell 245.76 points to 17,578.72.
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