May 18, 2006	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1427

HONG KONG, May 17: Asian stocks staged a technical rebound on Wednesday, however investors remained wary over the currency and commodity markets amid a backdrop of possible higher interest rates.

Around the region equities steadied and made modest to solid gains as the greenback found support and investors took some heart after the turmoil which dominated business over the previous three trading days.

A steady performance by commodity prices and Wall Street also helped improve sentiment, with Jakarta bouncing up by 2.41 per cent, Mumbai by 2.9 per cent, Singapore and Seoul by 1.4 per cent each and Tokyo by almost one per cent. Gains were more modest elsewhere, while Sydney, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur were flat.

TOKYO: Share prices snapped a six-day losing streak as bargain hunters finally emerged to scoop up stocks from their eight-week lows.

The Nikkei-225 index rose 149.25 points or 0.92 per cent to 16,307.67. Volume rose to 2.3 billion shares from 2.06 billion shares.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 1.36 per cent higher snapping a three-day losing streak on a rebound led by HSBC, China Mobile and commodity stocks.

SYDNEY: Share prices closed flat as investors remained cautious after a two-day plunge triggered by a sharp correction in commodity prices.

The S and P/ASX 200 finished up just 0.1 points at 5,217.5. Turnover was 1.30 billion shares worth 4.99 billion dollars (3.8 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.4 per cent higher with sentiment boosted by the economy’s better-than-expected expansion in the first quarter.

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices fell 0.16 per cent as an early rally fizzled out in late trade due to a lack of support from cautious investors.

JAKARTA: Share prices closed up 2.41 per cent as the rupiah’s recovery sparked bargain-hunting in banks and blue chips after the market’s fall in the last three sessions.

WELLINGTON: Share prices rose 0.72 per cent, snapping a four-day losing streak as the plunge of top stock Telecom was brought to a halt. The NZSX-50 gross index closed 26.33 points ahead at 3,649.99 on turnover worth (US $100.96 million).

MUMBAI: Share prices closed up nearly three per cent, extending gains for a second day in line with a recovery by key Asian markets, as infrastructure stocks posted a strong performance.—AFP