Asian stocks up on Wall Street rebound, oil dip

HONG KONG: Asian stock markets pushed higher on Friday, lifted by a strong performance on Wall Street and a brief dip in oil prices.

Tokyo's Nikkei index was up 1.02 percent in the afternoon and Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 ended up 1.20 percent, or 57.90 points, at 4,864.30.

Shanghai's Composite Index gained 0.21 percent and Hong Kong rose 1.19 percent by the break.

The rises were underpinned by renewed optimism about the US economy after the government reported that initial jobless claims had dropped to 368,000 in the week ending February 26, the lowest level since May 2008.

In addition a private-sector survey showed February sales in US chain stores were strong, while another gauge showed the country's vast service sector grew for a 15th consecutive month last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.59 percent, the broader S&P 500 index climbed 1.72 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq surged 1.84 percent.

Markets were also encouraged by a respite in the climb in world oil prices on Thursday.

However some caution set in across Asian markets as the day advanced, with oil starting to rise again and traders turning more cautious about the United States ahead of unemployment figures for February due out later.

"Investors can't really keep chasing shares higher since we don't know when this positive environment will collapse," Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires, citing uncertainty about crude prices.

In Asian trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, rose 11 cents to $102.02 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for April was up 11 cents at $114.90 in the afternoon. However the levels were still below Thursday's Asian prices.

Following brief excitement Thursday about a Venezuelan proposal to mediate in the crisis in Libya, which caused oil prices to soften, Jim Ritterbusch, head of oil trading advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates, said: "We still view the Libyan situation as far from being defined or resolved..."

"Civil discontent in other Middle East and North Africa countries will remain deserving of a sizeable security premium."

Japan's export giants enjoyed a lift from the yen weakening on Thursday, although it was starting to rise again on Friday.

Brokerage firm UOB KayHian said statistical analysis showed the Hong Kong market had priced in much of the risk stemming from factors such as the instability in the Middle East and North Africa.

"We see very limited downside and recommend investors increase exposure to China stocks," it said.

The single European currency dipped to $1.3956 in Tokyo morning trade, compared to $1.3965 in New York late Thursday. It fell to 114.93 yen from 115.10 yen.

The dollar was slightly lower at 82.33 yen compared to 82.41 yen.

Gold opened at $1,417.60-$1,418.60 an ounce in Hong Kong, down from $1,426.00-$1,427.00.

In other markets:

Manila rose 1.27 percent, or 48.66 points, to 3,882.71, despite higher-than-expected inflation for February of 4.3 percent.

Aboitiz Power rose 2.6 percent to 30.90 pesos, Philippine Long Distance Telephone climbed 0.5 percent to 2,260 pesos and SM Investments added 2.9 percent to 488 pesos.

 Wellington rose 0.61 percent, or 20.80 points, to 3,418.11.

Fletcher Building rose 1.2 percent to NZ$8.81 despite the company cutting its earnings forecast for the fiscal year 2011. Telecom rise 0.9 percent to NZ$2.16.