Asian stocks mostly ended higher Thursday in the wake of a Wall Street rally, with technology firms such as Advantest Corp. pacing gains in Japan, but Indian shares sharply retreated from early gains as fears of a European spillover from U.S. subprime mortgage market's woes came to light.
In Tokyo, Nikkei 225 index rose 141.32 points, or 0.83 percent, to finish at 17,170.60 while in Hong Kong, the blue chip Hang Seng Index fell 97.31 points, or 0.4 percent, to 22,439.36.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
With files from wire services
