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Asia unnerved

Asian assets were mostly weaker on Friday, unnerved by a fresh fall in the Nasdaq and renewed concerns over debt problems across the region.

Tokyo's Nikkei ended 0.29 % lower at 14544.30 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.77 % at 15180.62 on losses of chip heavyweights like Hutchison Whampoa.

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI also fell, as investors were edgy due to a delay in Hyundai Engineering and Construction's debt rehabilitation plan.

Mobashar Ahmed, Chief Analyst for futuresdata.net, said bears were expected to dominate the region as uplifting global factors emerge. "I think the markets will really turn on a couple of key global factors," Mr Ahmed said, "like interest rates expectations in the US becoming more benign and oil prices falling enough to reduce risk aversion.

"Hopefully at some point in time, views on IT spending and its impact on Asia would become a bit less panicky."

The indices had little or limited impact on regional markets as they included slight adjustments in Korea, Malaysia and Thailand. Regional currencies mostly weakened, sinking under the weight of strong dollar demand for debt repayments, high oil prices and concerns over the debt ridden corporate sector in Asia.

About time, says Mobashar

A bout of bargain hunting for US technical stocks injected fresh confidence into most Asian share markets on Wednesday, powering both Tokyo and Hong Kong over two percent higher.

The currency market was subdued with very little movement inn either the US dollar or the euro. Much of Europe is on holiday and many dealers are awaiting important US NAPM data with any surprises on the downside likely to push the euro higher.

Those European share markets trading were likely to be seen benefiting from the same US gains that boosted sentiment in Asia. Asian investors took heart from a rally in the US stocks on Tuesday, spurred by investors who had decided leading technology shares had been hammered enough and now was a good time to buy.

The tech laden Nasdaq index leapt 5.58 % to close at 3369, its tenth largest percentage gain ever and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.25 % to 10971 in its fourth consecutive gain. "Tech stocks have gone down so much that they went from being noticeably overvalued a few months back to looking pretty attractive now," said Mobashar Ahmed, Chief Analyst for futuresdata.net

It was a sentiment echoed in Asia on Wednesday. Tokyo Nikkei average jumped 2.29 % to end at 14872 as investors were shopping for stocks such as Sony Corporation, which had been battered in recent trade to lows for this year. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng jumped 2.24 % to 15229 by late trade, while South Korea's KOSPI surged 6.66 % to finish at 548 after Wall Street's rally prompted renewed interest in telecoms and chip shares.

"It was about time," Mr Ahmed commented. While the Nikkei had fallen some 30 % from its high of this year, some major tech stocks were down more than 60 % from their highs.

However, not all Asian markets were focused on Wall Street. Taiwan's TAIPEX said 2.15 % to close at 5425 as investors continued to fret about a political crisis triggered by the government's decision to scrap a nuclear power plant. "The index is now totally unrelated to fundamentals and international market performance," Mobashar Ahmed said. "Unless all political parties seek to compromise, investors will continue to adopt a 'wait and see' attitude and the index could fall further."

The crash of a Singapore Airlines plane Boeing 747 in Taipei on Tuesday night, which killed 78 people, did not have a major impact on the market. The Singapore share market also seemed immune to the crash with the Strait Times Index leaping 3.55 % higher to 2046 by late afternoon trade. However, shares in Singapore Airlines were down sharply. They were trading 30 cents weaker at S$ 17.30.

It was generally positive trading around the rest of the region. Australian S&P / ASX 200 index added 0.68 % to finish at 3276 and Malaysia was 0.46 % stronger at 755 by late trade.

Shares in India also strengthened. The benchmark Bombay index climbed 1.41 % to 3763 towards close.