Asian shares higher

A frothy IPO on Wall Street by social networking site LinkedIn helped lift most Asian share markets higher Friday despite mixed signals about the US economy's health.

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A frothy IPO on Wall Street by social networking site LinkedIn helped lift most Asian share markets higher Friday despite mixed signals about the U.S. economy's health.

Oil prices hovered near $99 a barrel, and the dollar weakened against the yen and the euro.

The Nikkei 225 index was 0.1 percent up at 9,631.55 with Japan's central bank keeping its key interest rate unchanged at virtually zero in a bid to shore up the economy as it hobbles back to pre-earthquake levels of activity. The country's northeastern coast was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, which washed away some 500 factories that produce key parts for Japan's manufacturing industries.

South Korea's Kospi rose 0.8 percent to 2,111.52. Benchmarks in Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand were higher, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.4 percent to 4,737.50.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was nearly 0.1 percent higher at 23,182.67, with Internet shares rising on the heels of the successful initial public offering by LinkedIn, which evoked memories of the dot-com boom and bust by soaring 109 percent on the first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Hong Kong-listed Tencent Holdings Ltd. rose 0.6 percent.

The debut of LinkedIn, an online networking service for professionals, is seen as a scene setter for other social networking sites that are expected to list during the next year. The candidates includes the online messaging service Twitter, game maker Zynga, and the biggest social network of all, Facebook.

Analysts said markets were finding their footing after weeks of volatility in equities and commodities, while the outlook for Japan, the world's No. 3 economy looks dim, following the worst earthquake in its history.

“There is still considerable uncertainty concerning the outlook for Japan, but I think the mainstream outlook is that their economy will rebound in the second half of the year, with rebuilding providing some support,” said David Cohen, economist with Action Economics in Singapore. “At the same time, global export demand should be supportive of the Japanese recovery.”

Oil prices stayed below $100 a barrel amid lackluster U.S. economic news and a warning by the International Energy Agency that petroleum prices threaten to stall the global economic recovery. The agency warned that there's “urgent need” for refineries to produce more gasoline.

Investor sentiment appeared on the upswing despite mixed economic signals out of the U.S. on Thursday.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that its measure of manufacturing activity slumped to the lowest reading since October. And the National Association of Realtors said the housing market remains weak as fewer people purchased previously occupied homes in April.

On the positive side, the Labor Department reported that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply for the second straight week.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.4 percent to close at 12,605.32. The S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent to 1,343.60. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.3 percent to 2,823.31.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was up 31 cents to $99.24 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The June contract, which expires later Friday, fell $1.66 to settle at $98.44 on Thursday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.4327 from $1.4311 from late Thursday in New York. The dollar dropped to 81.67 yen from 81.77 yen. - Sapa-AP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/asian-shares-higher-1.1071631

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