Asian stocks rise bar Japan, Taiwan


Hong Kong locked in a solid rise, with South Korea climbing for its seventh consecutive day and setting the pace

HONG KONG, China -- Asian stocks generally rose on Friday, though Japan closed slightly in the red.

Taiwan also lost ground. But most other markets notched narrow gains. South Korea led the way with a 1 percent rise.

Hong Kong also closed solidly in the black, with Australia nudging ahead. New Zealand closed on a small loss.

A climb in U.S. markets on Thursday saw the rest of Asia's indexes gain ground, China's B shares rising around 0.8 percent.

Nikkei drifts on DoCoMo

In Tokyo, the Nikkei ended down 0.08 percent at 9,788.13. The broader Topix closed off 0.06 percent at 961.12.

But trading was thin, with Japan enjoying summer vacations. The Nikkei had gone into the lunch break on a slight rise.


DoCoMo drifted in afternoon trade, closing down 1.12 percent after rising at the open

NTT DoCoMo, the largest listing, put pressure on afternoon trading, after rising in the morning. It closed down 1.12 percent at 264,000 yen.

Clothing chain Fast Retailing Co. jumped 6.23 percent to 3,410 yen, one of the strongest moves on the day.

Toyota Motor Corp. slipped 1.53 percent to 2,905 yen on the yen's run against the dollar and concern over U.S. economic prospects.

That yen pressure eased a little, with the currency weakening slightly against the U.S. dollar and stands at 117.56 in early trade out of Europe. But its moves were not dramatic.

Sydney posts slight rise

The Australian dollar strengthened a little to 54.60 cents against the greenback, as nervousness over the U.S. recovery subsided.

In Sydney, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 ended up 0.17 percent at 3,133.3. Media group News Corp. closed up 1.6 percent at A$10.28 as investors process its earnings this week.

Wine company and brewer Foster's lifted 1.7 percent to A$4.91 on heavy volume. Insurer AMP rose 2.7 percent to A$13.97.


Most smaller markets were up, with China's B shares lifting 0.8 percent in Shanghai and 0.9 percent in Shenzhen

AurionGold rose 1.6 percent to A$3.28 as Placer Dome's takeover bid expired Friday. It said two large shareholders had rejected the stock-and-cash offer.

But there were large-cap losers, with the market trading in a narrow range. BHP Billiton fell 1.2 percent to A$8.93.

Telstra Corp. fell 0.41 percent to A$4.88 after the government announced an inquiry into rural phone services that likely clears the way for the sale of its 50.1 percent stake in the telecom. (Full Story)

Korean stocks strongest in region

New Zealand's Top 40 closed off 0.1 percent at 2,024.67, essentially flat. Telecom New Zealand nudged up 0.2 percent to NZ$4.96.

Wood products company Carter Holt Harvey ended down 1.15 percent at NZ$1.72.

South Korea's market posted the strongest gains in the region, the Kospi climbing 0.99 percent to 718.29. That was the seventh straight day of gains.

Samsung Electronics put on 1.09 percent to 325,500 won as it continues its share buyback program. Overseas fund favorite SK Telecom climbed 1.08 percent to 233,500 won.

A weakened Korean won, now at 1,188.9 at the close of Seoul trade, helped Hyundai Motor ahead 4.2 percent to 33,600 won.

Cars pressure Taiwan

Taiwan's Taiex finished down 0.25 percent at 4,919.02, after a higher open. Turnover was low.

Car companies exerted selling pressure, with China Motor down 6.7 percent to T$39.00.

The electronics index lifted 0.82 percent. TSMC rose 0.94 percent to T$53.50. UMC was steady at T$30.40.

Hong Kong ahead

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed up 0.44 percent at 10,265.04.

Li & Fung closed strongly, up 3.66 percent at HK$8.50 after posting stronger than expected first-half results.

Small-motor marker Johnson Electric, another major exporter, climbed 2.58 percent to HK$7.95.

The company that runs the stock market, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, fell 4.31 percent to HK$10.00, after coming in with a worse-than-expected 20.7 percent fall for the first half.

Singapore's Straits Times index is up 0.08 percent at 1,533.07 heading into the close. The market got a boost from export figures showing non-oil shipments rose 16.8 percent in July, mainly due to non-electronic goods.