HONG KONG, April 11: Asian stocks closed mostly up on Friday with Japan rising nearly three per cent ahead of an international meeting of finance chiefs expected to discuss the global financial crisis.
The Tokyo bourse helped lift the mood in the region, with Hong Kong and Singapore both rallying around two per cent.
Group of Seven (G7) finance officials were to meet in Washington on Friday to discuss plans to prevent a repeat of what the IMF chief says is the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression.
The meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors comes amid increasingly grim forecasts for the international economic outlook, with worries about a global slowdown and a US recession.
TOKYO: Japanese shares surged almost three per cent as investors chased bargains after three days of falls, cheered by a rebound on Wall Street overnight and a weaker yen, dealers said.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell gained 378.43 points or 2.92 per cent to end at 13,323.73.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares advanced 30.55 points or 2.45 per cent to 1,278.62.
Gainers outnumbered decliners 1,513 to 146, with 55 issues unchanged.
Volume rose to 2.03 billion shares from 1.92 billion Thursday.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed up 1.99 per cent, dealers said.
The Hang Seng index closed up 480.69 points at 24,667.79. Turnover was 77.14 billion Hong Kong dollars (9.91 billion US).
China banks contributed a big chunk of the gains today, said Peter Lai, a director at DBS Vickers, noting strong earnings forecasts.
China Merchants Bank said it expects 140 per cent growth in first-quarter net profit compared to a year earlier.
SYDNEY: Australian shares closed down 0.1 per cent, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 7.1 points to 5,439.3 while the broader All Ordinaries index shed 10.3 points to close at 5,505.2.
Turnover was 1.2 billion shares worth 5.1 billion dollars (4.8 billion US).
Tabcorp fell 21.3 per cent to 11.31 dollars and Tatts Group shed 26.8 per cent to 2.68 dollars.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 2.03 per cent higher, dealers said.
The Straits Times Index jumped 62.27 points to 3,126.87 on volume of 1.31 billion shares worth 1.65 billion Singapore dollars (1.22 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.1 per cent lower, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) was down 1.4 points at 1,246.79.
Palm oil firm Sime Darby jumped 2.3 per cent to 9.10 ringgit. IOI Corp. State-run Telekom Malaysia went down 1.9 per cent to 10.60 ringgit while national power utility Tenaga lost 1.4 per cent to 7.05 ringgit.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 3.0 per cent higher, dealers said.
The Jakarta Composite Index was up 68.00 points at 2,303.93.
Coal producer Bumi Resources rose 3.5 per cent to 5,850 rupiah. Gold producer Antam jumped 5.0 per cent to 3,125 rupiah. Sentiment on Antam was partly lifted by news of a planned tie-up with ArcelorMittal.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 1.45 per cent lower, dealers said.
The NZX-50 gross index fell 51.17 points to 3,488.84.
The fall came after the government rejected a Canadian pension fund’s bid for a significant stake in Auckland International Airport.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices rose 0.72 per cent, dealers said.
The benchmark Mumbai Sensex rose 112.54 points to 15,807.64.
Recent fiscal measures may be complemented with monetary tightening. We expect the cash reserve for banks to be hiked by 50 basis points in the run-up to the policy, said Rajeev Malik, Asia economist with JP Morgan Chase.—AFP
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