By Tom Miles
HONG KONG, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Asian stock markets rose on
Friday after one of their worst months on record as concerns
eased about the outlook for top bond insurers which have been
hit by the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and credit-related
losses.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> closed up 1.7
percent after a late rally when MBIA Inc <MBI.N>, the top U.S.
bond insurer, said it had enough cash to run its business of
guaranteeing payments on corporate and municipal bonds.
Standard & Poor's rating agency also told the company it
had enough capital to keep its triple-A rating, MBIA executives
said.
Global stock markets were roiled by fears this week that a
credit downgrade of big bond insurers would further harm the
banking sector and stunt the global economy.
MSCI's measure of Asia Pacific stocks excluding Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 1.5 percent by 0219 GMT, boosted by a
2.2 percent rise in Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index <>,
which took heart from miner BHP Billiton Ltd's <BHP.AX> gains
and a rebound in recently battered banks and property trusts.
Taiwan's main TAIEX share index <> was also up 1.8
percent to rebound from Thursday, when it was one of the few
indices to fall. South Korea's KOSPI <> was up 0.6
percent, with battered shipbuilders back in favour and easing
worries about U.S. bond insurers' troubles buoying exporters.
But Japan's benchmark Nikkei average <> slid 0.6
percent as Sony Corp <6758.T> lost more than 5 percent after
cutting its earnings outlook. Sony slumped 6.5 percent.
[]
That marred a torrent of positive earnings news from firms
such as TDK Corp <6762.T>, Fujitsu Ltd <6702.T>, Panasonic
maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd <6752.T> and Suzuki
Motor Corp <7269.T>.
"Investors appear to be overselling Sony," said Koichi
Ogawa, a chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments.
But he added that relief about the U.S. insurers had calmed
the market.
"The good news about monoline insurers eased concerns,
prompting short-covering here," he said.
NON-FARM SHOWS THE WAY
Wall Street's gains on Thursday could not salvage the Dow's
worst January since 2000. It was the worst January since 1990
for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> and the worst
January ever for the Nasdaq Composite Index <>, down 9.9
percent on the month.
Despite hefty interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal
Reserve, investors are still worried about the health of the
U.S. economy and the global ramifications of a slowdown.
Traders are looking to U.S. non-farm payrolls and a reading
of factory activity later in the day to help them determine
whether to keep dumping the dollar, which tumbled to its
weakest in nearly three years against the yen <JPY=> last
month. []
"Basically, the payrolls figures must be very strong to
spur any significant dollar buying," said Hideaki Inoue, a
forex manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking.
In South Korea, data showed on Friday that exports grew a
faster-than-expected 17.0 percent in January, signalling that
demand for the country's products was not yet suffering.
"South Korea's exports held up pretty well despite a
slowing U.S. economy as the country's dependence on the United
States has reduced and demand from emerging economies remained
strong," said Chang Hwa-tak, economist at Dongbu Securities.
"But the outlook for the next months is uncertain as the
woes in the U.S. economy are likely to have an impact from
March-April."
The fresh concerns over the U.S. financial sector spurred
safety bids for U.S. Treasuries on Thursday, with Japanese
government bond futures following suit on Friday.
But gains were limited as many investors stayed on the
sidelines before the U.S. economic data, which could give more
pointers on the chance of a recession.
The dollar hovered around 106.45 yen, little changed from
late New York trade, when it slipped as far as 105.71 yen,
while the euro was little changed at $1.4865.
U.S. economic worries have also battered oil prices <CLc1>.
Crude fell by more than $1 to below $91 a barrel in early Asian
trade, with an OPEC meeting later on Friday expected to give
consumer nations no respite from high prices.
Spot gold rose to $926.26/927.00 an ounce from
$923.80/924.70 ounce late in New York.
Platinum firmed as investors believe the worst is far from
over in main producer South Africa's power crisis. Platinum
rose to $1,732/1,737 an ounce from $1,730/1,735 in New York on
Thursday, when it spiked to an all-time high of $1,741.
(Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu, Satomi Noguchi and
Aiko Hayashi in TOKYO; Cheon Jong-woo in SEOUL;)
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
