“I suppose there was large-scale window dressing by foreign investors not only in the local market but also in other Asian markets,” said Toshio Sumitani, senior strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre.

Shares rose despite news of an unexpected rise in Japan’s jobless rate in February, along with sluggish consumer spending figures and a pick-up in inflation to a fresh decade high, dealers said.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed sharply higher, up 2.74pc, as China stocks surged following a strong rebound in Shanghai.

Shares in China Mobile, oil stocks and financials led the way.

China Mobile was up more than 2.5pc after news that its parent will begin next month commercial trials of third-generation (3G) mobile phone services based on China’s homegrown TD-SCDMA standard.

Oil stocks were helped by a rise in crude prices overnight and a rebound in PetroChina’s A-shares on the mainland.

China insurers rallied after mainland and Hong Kong regulators signed an agreement regarding supervision of investment activities here by mainland insurers.

The Hang Seng index closed up 621.73 points at 23,285.95. Turnover was 97.54 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Peter Lai, sales director at DBS Vickers, attributed Friday’s gains mainly to China stocks “as investors and some funds have started accumulating the stocks after their recent correction.”

SEOUL: South Korean shares closed 1.5pc higher as investors shrugged off North Korea’s missile tests and boosted portfolios before the end of the first quarter.

Dealers said the market opened lower as investors locked in this week’s gains, following Wall Street’s decline overnight and data showing another South Korean current account deficit.

The KOSPI index ended up 25.59 points at 1,701.83. Volume was 338 million shares worth 5.4 trillion won (5.4 billion dollars).

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.22pc higher after investors shook off initial worries over Wall Street’s overnight decline and picked up attractively priced blue chips.

Dealers said local share prices brushed off early weakness to gain momentum by midmorning in line with strong performances by other Asian markets.

The Straits Times Index rose 6.70 points to 3,031.90 on volume of 1.89 billion shares worth 1.87 billion Singapore dollars (1.36 billion US).

“The Hang Seng (Hong Kong’s index) was up over 600 points, so the Singapore market just responded,” said Goh Mou Lih, research head at Westcomb Securities.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.4pc higher on continued bargain hunting and window dressing activities as the first quarter draws to a close.The composite index gained 4.38 points to 1,258.41 on volume of 949 million shares worth 1.8 billion ringgit (562.5 million dollars).

Analysts said gains by heavyweight Maybank, which rose 0.15 ringgit to close at 8.55 ringgit after a steep sell-off Thursday, helped lift the key index amid bargain-hunting in construction, industrial and mining stocks.

The market’s negative reaction was due to the high price the bank is paying for PT Bank Internasional Indonesia, CIMB Research analyst Winson Ng said.

“The price weakness provided investors an opportunity to accumulate the shares gradually and cheaply as valuations have become more attractive,” Ng said.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 1.1pc higher on Friday, led by coal producer Bumi Resources and telecommunications company Indosat on earnings hopes.Dealers said the market was lower in early trading after Wall Street declined overnight following data showing that the US economy grew at an annual rate of just 0.6pc in the fourth quarter, compared to 4.9pc in the previous quarter.

The Composite Index closed up 26.24 points at 2,477.59. Volume was 2.68 billion shares valued at 4.31 trillion rupiah (467.56 million dollars).

Indosat, the country’s second-biggest telecom company, is due to release its full-year results later in the day or early Monday, while Bumi Resources will announce its earnings on Tuesday at the latest.

“Miners and telecom stocks were the main drivers of the market’s rise today on optimism about their 2007 earnings,” Samuel Securities analyst Christine Salim said.

MANILA: Philippine share prices closed 1.0pc higher on window-dressing as fund managers tidied up their portfolios for the end of the first quarter.

Dealers said initial trade was lacklustre after Wall Street fell further overnight on worries about the outlook for banks and disappointing earnings for business software maker Oracle Corp, which dragged down technology stocks.

The composite index closed up 30.11 points at 2,956.02 on volume of 1.1 billion shares worth 3.6 billion pesos.

“End-of-quarter window-dressing helped extend the market’s rally into the sixth straight session. Investors snapped up select blue chips, temporarily setting aside all the bad news,” said Nestor Aguila of DA Market Securities.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices rose 2.22pc, as global markets recovered amid hopes that the impact of US economic slowdown on Asia was exaggerated.

Dealers said a rise in inflation, now at a 13-month peak of 6.68pc, failed to dampen sentiment as buying spread across index, mid and small-cap stocks.

The Sensex rose 355.73 points to 16,371.29.

India’s leading vehicle maker Tata Motors fell for a second day after it said it was buying British luxury icons Jaguar and Land Rover from ailing US carmaker Ford for $2.3 billion.—AFP