Market Commentary and Intraday News

Asian stocks rebound despite global uncertainty

245 days ago

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

(AP:BEIJING) Asian stock markets rebounded Friday, led by oil and technology shares, despite uncertainty about the fragile global economy.

Crude rose above $93 in Asian trading, clawing back some of its recent large fall and helping to boost energy stocks.

The regional heavyweight, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index, gained 0.6 percent to 9,142.29 while China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 2,027.03. Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney also rose.

The gains helped to reverse some of the week's losses after Japanese data showed exports suffered from debt-crippled Europe's downturn and a Chinese index showed manufacturing contracted in September.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent to 20,741.3. Seoul's Kospi index added 0.5 percent to 2,001.33 and Sydney's ASX S&P 200 rose 0.4 percent to 4,413.6.

U.S. markets ended mixed Thursday following disappointing economic reports that showed higher-than-expected unemployment and a contraction in manufacturing. The Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite indices fell while the Dow Jones industrial average gained.

"It just seems like global markets are going through a bit of a consolidation phase at the moment," said IG markets strategist Stan Shamu in a report.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said a manufacturing index showed regional activity contracted in September for a fifth straight month. That was despite the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest effort last week to stimulate the economy.

In China, Asia's biggest oil and gas producer, PetroChina Ltd., gained 1.5 percent while rival CNOOC Ltd. added 1.3 percent. China Mobile Ltd., the world's biggest phone carrier by subscribers, rose 2 percent.

That came after HSBC Corp. said Thursday its September purchasing managers' index showed manufacturing activity contracted but the slowdown might be stabilizing. Analysts expect China to start recovering from its deepest economic slump since the 2008 global crisis later this year or in early 2013.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was up 62 cents at $93.04 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In currency markets, the dollar fell to 78.11 yen from Thursday's 78.21. The euro rose to $1.299 from the previous day's close of $1.2975.

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