Asian shares rallied Friday to hand weekly gains to most markets in the region, with shipping stocks leading for another day and miners rising on hopes demand for commodities might be picking up.
Japan's Nikkei 225 finished the day 126.97 points higher, or 1.6% to 8.076.62
Some analysts warned Asia's gains might fade, especially with January U.S. non-farm payrolls on the slate later, forecast in a Dow Jones Newswires poll to show a loss of 525,000 jobs.
Markets were also awaiting progress on U.S. President Barack Obama's fiscal stimulus plan, while Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was expected to announce a bank rescue plan on Monday.
Shipping and commodity stocks were helped by another surge in the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping rates for dry bulk and an indicator of global demand. The index rose 13.8% Thursday and tallied gains of 28.4% in the past two days, though it's still well down from record levels hit in mid-2008.
But some analysts warned the BDI could overextend itself given a lack of fundamental evidence that China's demand for commodities has improved significantly. Some have said the BDI bounce might be due more to hedge funds covering short positions on forward-freight agreements.
That wasn't stopping the shipping sector, however, with Korea's STX Pan Ocean gaining 4.9%, while Nippon Yusen added 1.2% and Kawasaki Kisen advanced 1.3% in Tokyo. In Singapore, Neptune Orient Lines gained 1.6% by late afternoon, while STX Pan Ocean surged 7.5%.
There was a carryover effect on commodity stocks, with Australia's BHP Billiton up 1.9% and Newcrest Mining up 5.7%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index also ended the week on a high note, jumping 476.14 points, or 3.61% to 13,655.04
Hong Kong's market was lifted by gains in China-related stocks, though PCCW slipped 2.9% after resuming trade. Trading was suspended Thursday as officials with Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission said they would launch an inquiry into the voting results after shareholders approved a $2.1 billion buyout offer from a group led by its chairman Richard Li.
Earlier in the day, Samsung Electronics rose 4.6% in Seoul and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing jumped 5.4% in Taipei.
News Corp. shares fell 4.1% in Sydney, though, and the stock dropped 4.9% after-hours in the U.S. The company, which owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires and MarketWatch, swung to a fiscal second-quarter loss on $8.4 billion in writedowns, and it slashed its outlook for fiscal 2009 operating income.
CHINA
China's Shanghai Composite rallied 86.31 points or 4.01%,to 2,237.28, delivering its best performance this week, on optimism the country's economy will be among the first to recover from the global downturn. The benchmark ended the week with nearly 10% gains as stocks rose across sectors.
Shanghai posted across-the-board gains, with auto stocks faring especially well, after a Shanghai Securities News report that Beijing might subsidize farmers' vehicle purchases. SAIC Motor added 4.9%.
Elsewhere:
Singapore’s Straits Times Index leapt 10.75 points or 0.63%, to close at 1,715.35
Taiwan’s Taiex Index advanced 108 points or 2.48%, to close at 4,471.25
South Korea’s Kospi gained 32.38 points or 2.75% to 1,210.26
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index was closed for a holiday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was ahead 41.30 points or 1.2% to 3,469.90
