Asia Roundup: Mostly up, Shanghai rises 2pc

HONG KONG: Asian stocks closed mostly up yesterday as fears of a potentially deep US economic downturn eased, with the Chinese stock market continuing a strong rally.

The Japanese, South Korean and Thai markets were shut, but trading resumed in mainland China after a holiday and the Shanghai bourse rose nearly two per cent.

Analysts said Asian investors generally drew succour yesterday from figures lending support to hopes that the US economic outlook after the global financial crisis was not as bad as feared.

However, Asia-Pacific share prices overall are still down about 12.5 per cent since hitting a peak at the end of October 2007.

SYDNEY: Shares closed up 0.5 per cent buoyed by the mining sector.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 29.9 points to close at 5,730.3. The All Ordinaries index added 37.3 points to 5,797.7.

SHANGHAI: Share prices closed 1.84 per cent higher on continued positive sentiment following a jump of nearly five per cent in the key index during its previous session.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed up 67.90 points at 3,761.01.

TAIPEI: Share prices closed 1.41 per cent lower as a weaker Taiwan dollar hit the financial sector. The weighted index closed down 126.56 points at 8,837.07.

JAKARTA: Shares closed 1.9 per cent higher supported by gains on Wall Street last week and the release of strong first-quarter results of major companies.

The composite index gained 45.23 points to 2,387.99.

MANILA: Share prices closed 1.1 per cent higher as investors chased bargains ahead of the release of key corporate results.

The composite index added 29.98 points to 2,752.93. The all-share index rose 20.41 points to 1,723.94.

"The blue-chips did very well, while gains in other stocks were respectable," said Lawrence de Leon at Accord Capital Equities.

MUMBAI: Share prices closed 0.62 per cent lower in range-bound trade tracking weak European markets. However, buying interest shifted to the mid-cap stocks.

The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex index fell 109.22 points to 17,490.9 points. - AFP