· Asian shares were hobbled on Friday by a downbeat performance on Wall Street though they remained on track for weekly gains, while oil prices extended a rally on hopes for output cuts
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS erased early slight gains and was down 0.2 percent in afternoon trading, shy of nearly two-year highs probed in the previous session but still up 1.5 percent for the week.
· Japanese shares slipped from near 17-month highs on Friday, as a slightly stronger yen triggered selling in futures markets while investors focused on a slew of corporate earnings such as from automaker Nissan on a surprise hike in dividend.
The Nikkei share average dropped 0.4 percent to 19,883.90. The index gained 2.3 percent for the week, racking up its fourth week of gains helped by easing worries over European politics and tensions in the Korean peninsula.
· Shanghai stocks bounced on Friday, but still posted a fifth straight week of losses amid lingering worries over economic growth and regulatory measures aimed at curbing risky lending and speculation.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.9 percent, to 3,385.38 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7 percent to 3,083.51 points.
· Hong Kong stocks hovered near 21-month highs on Friday, and posted their biggest weekly gain in two months, helped by continuous inflows from mainland China.
The Hang Seng index on Friday rose 0.1 percent, to 25,156.34, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.2 percent, to 10,282.65 points.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
.png)
Thai
Eng