Asian markets mostly up in nervous trade

HONG KONG: Asian stocks were mostly higher in nervous trade on Monday as dealers took a breather after the brutal sell-off in global markets at the end of last week.

Brent oil was down on news of intense fighting in Tripoli, where rebels said they were a "few hours" from taking the Libyan capital after months of stalemate with Moamer Kadhafi's forces.

Gold stayed near the record highs it tested on Friday, with traders looking for somewhere safe to keep their money, but the Japanese currency was well off its post-war high hit in New York, after Tokyo again warned it was prepared to step into the market.

The dollar firmed to 76.62 yen in Tokyo morning trade against 75.95 at one point on Friday.

The greenback's slump beat its previous post-World War II low of 76.25, which it reached days after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan.

The Japanese currency, seen as a safe-haven unit together with the Swiss franc, has attracted purchases amid deepening concern about faltering growth in the United States and over the eurozone's debt crisis.

Local media reported over the weekend that Japanese authorities are ready to take action against a further surge in the yen, including market intervention. The reports said the central bank is also considering further monetary easing.

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda stepped up his rhetoric Monday against the yen's rise. "I'm worried that recent one-sided yen moves have been strengthening," Noda said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

"I will take decisive actions if necessary without excluding any possible measures, while watching even more closely if there are any speculative movements," he told reporters.

Against the Swiss unit, the greenback firmed to 0.7866 francs from 0.7849 in New York.

The Swiss currency strengthened to 1.1308 per euro, compared with 1.1381 francs late Friday in Tokyo.

The euro eased to $1.4380 from $1.4398. The European common currency was almost flat at 110.18 yen against 110.15 yen.

The Nikkei in Tokyo was choppy, opening lower on the back of the surging yen before tip-toeing into positive territory before the lunch break, to stand 0.19 percent higher.

Sydney was 0.94 percent up, while Seoul swung around either side of its opening and was flat by around midday.

Hong Kong added 0.43 percent in volatile trade and Shanghai was 0.37 percent higher.

Dealers said the Japanese stock market was at the mercy of the yen/dollar pairing.

"At this level, we will still see funds flowing out of exporters and into domestic demand-related stocks," Takuya Yamada, senior portfolio manager at ITC Investment Partners, told Dow Jones Newswires.

But the slight strengthening of the greenback was providing some support, said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.

"It's a tug-of-war between caution and expectations for a global equity rebound later in the week," Miura said, noting that markets were anticipating US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech scheduled on Friday.

The Dow on Friday shed 1.57 percent, down 172.93 points to close at 10,817.65. That followed drops in Europe, where London's FTSE 100 closed 1.01 percent lower, Frankfurt's DAX dropped 2.19 percent and Paris's CAC 40 slid 1.92 percent, adding to the losses from Thursday's brutal sell-off.

Brent crude plunged in Asian trade Monday as traders eyed the possible impact of a rebel victory in Tripoli.

Brent North Sea crude for October delivery dropped $1.87 to $106.75 from Friday's close while New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery was up 55 cents to $82.81 a barrel.

Before the rebellion began, around 85 percent of Libya's daily 1.49 million barrel production went to Europe and Brent has come under selling pressure as a resolution of the crisis will likely see more supplies to the European markets.

Libyan rebels surged into Tripoli Sunday in a final drive to oust Kadhafi as they seized swathes of the capital and arrested the strongman's son, Seif al-Islam.

However, senior rebel figure Mahmud Jibril said there were still pockets of resistance in and around Tripoli and warned his forces to be cautious.

"The fight is not over yet," he said on rebel television Al-Ahrar. "God willing, in few hours our victory will be complete."

Gold opened in Hong Kong at $1,870.00-$1,871.00 dollars an ounce, up from its Asian close on Friday of $1,862.00-$1,863.00 an ounce, but slightly off highs it reached in other markets.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011