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Agence France-Presse

HONG KONG - Asian stocks closed mostly up Friday but that failed to dispel much gloom after this year’s share price plunge, with the key Japanese market continuing its longest losing streak in decades.

The Tokyo bourse fell 0.21 percent for the 12th consecutive trading day, doing so for the first time since the 1950s as the potential economic damage from soaring oil prices again hit investor sentiment.

The Taiwan stock market tumbled more than two percent despite the historic launch of regular direct flights between the island and its rival China for the first time in nearly six decades.

Investors in Asia are worried that surging inflation amid high crude oil and food prices will end up slowing economic growth, dimming the prospects for Asian stocks even though they have fallen steeply since their peak last year.

Many were looking ahead to the annual summit in Japan next week of the Group of Eight (G8) industrial powers, which is expected to tackle the issue of high oil and food costs.

Among other key Asian markets, China and South Korea fell, but Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore ended higher.

India rallied more than 2.5 percent despite official figures showing inflation stood at a more than 13-year high of over 11 percent. But the Mumbai bourse overall has tumbled since the start of the year.

Investors also continue to worry about the ailing US economy, which is battling to recover from a financial crisis and steep housing market downturn.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices slipped for a 12th straight trading day, continuing their longest losing streak in more than five decades on worries about the earnings outlook, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 27.51 points or 0.21 percent to end at 13,237.89. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares slipped 0.14 points or 0.01 percent to 1,297.88.

The last time the benchmark fell for 12 straight sessions was in April 1954, when it declined for 15 straight trading days.

The index has fallen about 1,215 points, or 8.4 percent, over the past 12 sessions.

"Japanese shares have become an easy target for selling since they have outperformed other global markets since their lows in March," Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Shinko Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Sumitomo Realty & Development lost 3.3 percent to 2,075 yen and Tokyo Tatemono slid 6.1 percent to 551 yen.

Chip shares ended in negative territory. Tokyo Electron declined 1.2 percent to 5,880 yen and Advantest dipped 1.1 percent to 2,195 yen.

Mazda Motor advanced 4.6 percent to 550 yen and Nissan Motor edged up 0.8 percent to 866 yen.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed up 0.9 percent, dealers said.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 181.04 points to close at 21,423.82. Turnover was light at 50.16 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.43 billion US).

"The Hong Kong market is oversold. Some stocks have fallen quite a lot and are now offering good value for investment," said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KGI Asia Ltd.

"But the overall momentum is quite limited, reflecting cautious sentiment because of higher oil prices and worries about inflation."

Bank ICBC’s rosy earnings forecast helped revive interest in other financial issues. Standard Chartered Bank was 4.2 percent higher at 225.20 Hong Kong dollars. China Merchants Bank gained 2 percent to 22.85.

Ping An rose 3.8 percent to 50.75 after the insurer said there is no need to make provisions for its investment in Belgian-Dutch banking and insurance group Fortis.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed up 1.7 percent Friday, dealers said.

The benchmark SP/ASX 200 index closed up 83.8 points at 5,082.1 and the broader All Ordinaries gained 76 points to 5,170.

Some 1.37 billion shares worth 5.3 billion dollars (5.1 billion US) changed hands.

"I think it’s a good sign (that the index recovered)," Macquarie Private Wealth senior private client adviser Marcus Droga told Dow Jones Newswires.

"The market is showing signs of not being terminally ill."

BHP rose 2.2 percent to 40.70 dollars and Rio Tinto added 3.1 percent to 125.70 dollars.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 2.4 percent to 42.33 dollars. Woodside Petroleum fell 2.1 percent to 61.75 dollars.

Origin Energy fell 0.8 percent at 16.15 dollars after rejecting a 13.7-billion-dollar hostile takeover bid from Britain’s BG Group Plc.

SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed down 1.24 percent, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, closed down 33.64 points at 2,669.89.

"Investors are more conservative with the weekend approaching, as China’s authorities tend to launch tightening measures, including rate hikes, during weekends," Jacky Zhang at Capital Securities told Dow Jones Newswires.

The Shanghai A-share index lost 1.25 percent to 2,800.11, while the Shenzhen A-share index shed 0.57 percent to 845.62.

China Shenhua Energy dropped 8.13 percent to 31.96 yuan. China Petroleum Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) fell 3.19 percent to 9.42 yuan. PetroChina was down 2.24 percent at 14.38 yuan.

Meanwhile, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country’s largest bank, rose 1.05 percent to 4.80 yuan after forecasting over 50 percent growth in first-half net profit.

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China edged down 0.94 percent at 40.17 yuan, showing signs of stabilizing after falling steeply in the previous two sessions.

TAIPEI: Taiwan shares closed 2.24 percent lower, dealers said.

The weighted index fell 165.69 points at 7,228.41 on turnover of 98.25 billion Taiwan dollars (3.23 billion US).

The launch of regular direct flights between China and Taiwan for the first time in nearly six decades Friday failed to lift market sentiment.

"Inflation fears have further hurt already weak market sentiment. Rising oil prices are pushing up commodity prices here. The public are feeling the pinch," President Securities analyst Steven Huang said.

China Airlines fell seven percent to 12.55 dollars and EVA Airways lost the same amount to 12.65.

Formosa International Hotels dropped seven percent at 510.00 and Leofoo Development fell 4.12 percent to 19.80.

United Microelectronics Corp fell 1.58 percent to 15.55 but Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co gained 0.34 percent to 59.00.

SEOUL: South Korean shares closed 1.8 percent lower, dealers said.

The KOSPI index ended down 28.60 points at 1,577.94. Trading was 243 million shares worth 4.3 trillion won (4.09 billion dollars).

"After seeing hopes for even a technical rebound thwarted so easily, many investors moved to cash in their shareholdings even at a loss," said Lee Kyung-Soo, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities.

Samsung Electronics fell 2.7 percent to 616,000 won and Hynix plummeted 6.8 percent to 23,350 won. LG Electronics added 0.4 percent to 115,000 won.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.42 percent higher, dealers said.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index closed up 12.09 points at 2,892.54.

Volume was a slim 879 million shares worth 913 million Singapore dollars (671 million US).

DBS finished two cents higher at 18.68 Singapore dollars. CapitaLand ended up seven cents at 5.79. Singapore Airlines rose 18 cents to 14.10.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed down 1.7 percent, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index dropped 19.56 points to 1,134.14.

"We are likely to see a technical rebound next week on bargain-hunting," he said Pong Teng Siew, head of research at Jupiter Securities.

"But confidence remains fragile and many investors will continue to stay away due to the continuing political uncertainties and concerns over the impact of rising inflation."

British American Tobacco slid 3.5 percent to 41.75 ringgit. Sime Darby lost 2.2 percent to 8.75 ringgit. Maybank slipped 0.7 percent to 7.0 ringgit.

BANGKOK: Thai shares closed 0.12 percent higher, dealers said.

They said trading was lacklustre as many investors stayed on the sidelines amid fears of a slowdown in the global economy driven by high inflation and volatile oil prices.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index gained 0.88 points to close at 743.03 points, while the blue-chip SET-50 index rose 0.91 points to close at 528.37.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 1.2 percent higher, dealers said.

The Jakarta Composite Index rose 28.14 points to 2,314.75.

"The rebound in most mining blue-chips improved sentiment here, but swift profit taking by local funds limited gains on the main index," a trader told Dow Jones Newswires.

Coal miner Bukit Asam rose 4.9 percent to 16,000 rupiah, and rival Bumi Resources rose 4.9 percent to 7,500.

MANILA: Philippine share prices closed 1.3 percent higher, dealers said.

The composite index gained 29.37 points to 2,369.21. The all-share index rose 12.50 points to 1,516.49.

Gomer Tan of Regina Capital Development Corp. said the rise Friday was "more of a technical rebound."

Inflation hit a 14-year high of 11.4 percent in June.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone gained 0.6 percent to 2,345 pesos while Ayala Corp. rose 1.96 percent to 260 pesos.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 2.05 percent up, dealers said.

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The NZX-50 gross index rose 63.50 points to close at 3,157.92.

"It’s been a good finish to a pretty bad week," said Grant Williamson of Hamilton Hindin Greene.

Telecom recovered from 15-year lows to close up 13 cents at 3.41 dollars.

Fletcher Building rose 21 cents to 6.42, casino investor Sky City jumped 14 cents to 3.15, and pay television firm Sky TV gained 18 cents to 4.25.

MUMBAI: Indian shares closed 2.75 percent higher, dealers said.

The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex index rose 359.89 points to 13,454.

"Fresh buying emerged despite rising inflation. Investors are beginning to grasp that inflation will remain in double-digits for some time," said Bhaskar Kapadia, partner with brokerage Pyramid Securities.