Most Asian markets rose Thursday, cheered in part by Wall Street's overnight rise on solid results in the technology arena and renewed demand for risky debt. China's benchmark index added 2.0 percent to close at its fifth straight record close, while stocks in Japan, South Korea and elsewhere also posted gains. Hong Kong share prices edged down, while Thailand's benchmark index shed 2.4 percent, according to AP. In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 141.32 points, or 0.83 percent, to finish at 17,170.60 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Japanese stocks got a boost from Wall Street overnight, where the Dow Jones industrial average rose 153.56, or 1.14 percent, to 13,657.86. Strong earnings figures and the yen's weakness against the dollar also provided a lift. «Broader worries about the subprime markets are being soothed and decent earnings are helping restore market confidence,» said Motomi Hiratsuka, head of sales trading at BNP Paribas. Gainers included Softbank Corp., which climbed 1.76 percent. The Japanese Internet services company reported Wednesday that profit in the most recent quarter surged to more than 17 times earnings in the same quarter last year on its brisk mobile phone business. Exporters also got a boost from the dollar's renewed strength against the yen, which inflates exporters' overseas income and makes their products more competitive abroad. Sony Corp. rose 0.84 percent, Toshiba Corp. added 2.27 percent, and Canon Inc. posted a 1.09 percent gain. Fast Retailing Co. jumped 10.4 percent after it announced it is dropping its attempt to buy U.S. luxury chain Barneys New York Inc. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's blue chip Hang Seeing Index edged down on profit taking following the index's biggest one-day gain in more than six years. Renewed worries over the U.S. sub-prime problem also dragged the market lower. The index fell 97.31 points, or 0.4 percent, to 22,439.36. In the morning session, the HSI rose as much as 260.06 points, or 1.2 percent, to 22,796.73. But it lost its steam toward the end of the session, led by declines in some index heavyweights and in Chinese financial stocks. Adding to woes in the afternoon session was French bank BNP Paribas, which said one of its units has suspended net asset valuations of three of its funds because of lack of liquidity in some securitization markets in the U.S. It attributed the suspension to problems in the U.S. subprime sector. Bank HSBC dipped 0.1 percent, after rising as much as 0.6 percent earlier in the session. China Mobile dropped 1.1 percent, after a 1.4 percent rise in the morning. The country's largest mobile operator by subscribers is scheduled to release its first-half result Aug. 16. ICBC fell 0.8 percent, wiping out an earlier gain of 2.3 percent. China's largest bank by assets also plans to announce its earnings Aug. 16. In currency trading in Tokyo, the dollar was trading at 119.62 yen at 2:50 p.m. (0550 GMT), up from 119.48 yen late Wednesday in New York. The euro rose to US$1.3804 from US$1.3766. Elsewhere: BANGKOK: Thai shares ended sharply lower after a volatile session punctuated by weak domestic economic data and a resurgence of risk aversion. The benchmark SET Index fell 2.4 percent to 811.83 points. JAKARTA: Indonesian shares fell on profit taking amid renewed worries over global credit markets. The country's benchmark index finished down 0.9 percent at 2,241.40 points in moderate volume. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's benchmark KLCI index rose 0.5 percent to finish at 1,313.39 points in moderate volume. The index was dragged off its intraday high of 1,324.68 points by profit-taking. MANILA: Philippine shares ended up, though gains were held in check as investors cashed in profits after the market's 2.1 percent rise since Tuesday. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 9.29 points, closing 0.3 percent higher at 3385.20. SEOUL: South Korean shares finished higher, as support from Wall Street's overnight rise outweighed a dip after the central bank unexpectedly hiked its overnight call rate target. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, ended up 5.27 points, or 0.3 percent, at 1,908.68. SHANGHAI: China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index rose above the psychologically important 4,700-point level to its fifth record close in a row as financial company shares climbed on expectations of strong earnings. The index ended up 2.0 percent at 4,754.10 points, a finish that tops an 8.4 percent gain over the past five sessions. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.5 percent to 1,348.88 points. SINGAPORE: Singapore's markets were closed for the National Day holiday. SYDNEY: Australian shares rose for a third straight day on a surge in financial companies, although some of the usual market leaders such as BHP Billiton and Macquarie Bank lagged while Telstra fell sharply on disappointing earnings guidance. Some traders remained nervous after recent volatility. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1 percent to a two-week high of 6,165.6 points. TAIPEI: Taiwan shares were buoyed by Wall Street's overnight gains and strength in other Asian markets. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange climbed 83.14 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 9,182.60 points on moderate volume. WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares closed higher, continuing the recent trend of seesawing in line with sharp moves in offshore markets. The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 43.6 points, or 1.1 percent, at 4160.43.
