HONG KONG (AP) - Asian stock markets were mostly higher Friday as stronger-than-expected results from bellwether companies gave investors more reasons to hope the worst of the global recession was over. European markets were mixed in early trade.
Most Asian markets followed Wall Street’s overnight advance, with technology shares like Japan’s Sharp and Toshiba among the day’s best performers, as the region headed for its sixth straight week of gains. Oil prices and the dollar sank modestly.
Investors, increasingly optimistic that the slide in world economic activity is starting to slow or turn around altogether, got another boost with upbeat results from leading international companies.
Nokia Corp., the world’s top mobile phone maker, said it was maintaining its outlook for the phone market and had beat analyst forecasts for sales during the first quarter. In financials, JP Morgan Chase became the latest U.S. bank to report solid earnings. Internet search firm Google also eked a higher profit.
There’s been a dramatic shift in sentiment in global markets since March. Now, with many stock benchmarks up 20 percent or more, investors have felt pressured to dip into the market out of fears of missing the year’s largest upswing.
“Everybody seems to be afraid of selling, so I think the rally still has a bit more to go,” said Henry Chan, Hong Kong-based head of Asian equities at Baring Asset Management, which oversees about $6 billion in regional equities.
Still, a number of bourses came off their highs, a reflection of some of the jitters still in the market.
As trading got underway in Europe, France’s CAC 40 was flat, Germany’s DAX was down 0.1 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 index was up 2 percent. U.S. futures pointed to a softer open on Wall Street. Dow futures fell 45 points, or 0.6 percent, to 8,018 and S&P 500 futures were down 5.5, or 0.6 percent, at 856.
Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average added 152.32, or 1.7 percent, to 8,907.58 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng pared gains to close up 18.28 points, or 0.1 percent, at 15,601.27. India’s main index advanced 2.8 percent while Australia’s benchmark shed its gains to close slightly higher.
Other markets fared worse.
Shanghai’s stock index, which has soared almost 40 percent this year on hopes government spending and other measures can help protect China’s economy from the downturn, slipped 1.2 percent. Analysts pointed to government warnings that financial institutions should guard against risky loans amid a flood of a new lending as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.6 percent. Taiwan’s main stock measure posted the day’s steepest losses, losing about 4 percent, after a spectacular run-up in recent weeks.
Across Asia tech shares were especially strong, helped by Nokia’s report.
Toshiba, Japan’s top chipmaker, rose 4.4 percent after announcing its operating loss for the fiscal year would be a smaller-than-expected. In South Korea, major chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor vaulted 9.8 percent. Japanese electronics maker Sharp jumped almost 9 percent.
Investors were encouraged by U.S. markets, where the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 95.81, or 1.2 percent, at 8,125.43, its first close above 8,100 since Feb. 9. The Dow is now up 24 percent since March 9.
Broad stock indicators rose by bigger percentages. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 13.24, or 1.6 percent, to 865.30
Oil prices traded modestly lower, with benchmark crude for May delivery off 36 cents at $49.60 a barrel. The contract on rose 73 cents to settle at $49.98 overnight.
In currencies, the dollar slipped to 99.32 yen from 99.59 yen. The euro was lower at $1.3084 from $1.3194.
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