HONG KONG, Sept 27: Asian markets rose on Thursday on hopes for fresh Chinese stimulus as well as bargain buying, but gains were mostly capped as fears over Spanish and Greek debt returned to the fore.

With violent anti-austerity protests breaking out on the streets of Madrid and Athens, concerns have continued to mount that the market euphoria from this month’s central bank stimulus announcements has evaporated.

Shanghai surged 2.60 per cent, or 52.15 points, to 2,056.32 after it closed at a 44-month low on Wednesday. Hong Kong added 1.14 per cent, or 234.56 points, to 20,762.29, Tokyo gained 0.48 per cent, or 43.17 points, to 8,949.87, Sydney added 0.52 per cent, or 22.6 points, to 4,384.2 and Seoul rose 0.42 per cent, or 8.26 points, to 1,988.70.

After weeks of calm that saw the European, US and Japanese central banks unveil plans to boost growth, focus has returned to the eurozone, and in particular Spain and Greece, which has led to a sell-off in recent days. But regional sentiment was lifted on Thursday by solid gains in Shanghai, where there are hopes the government will soon announce fresh monetary easing to boost the economy.

Chinese markets are closed next week for the National Day holiday, which observers hope will provide a chance for leaders to introduce measures such as an interest rate cut or a reduction in bank reserve requirements.

Singapore raised 0.42 per cent, or 12.75 points, to 3,059.43. Singapore Telecom was flat at Sg$3.20 and Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), the subject of a takeover bid by Dutch beer brewer Heineken, finished at Sg$52.9 on the eve of a shareholders meeting widely expected to approve the offer.

Kuala Lumpur ended 0.53 per cent, or 8.54 points, higher at 1,627.84. AirAsia gained 3.5 per cent to 2.95 ringgit, while Malayan Banking added 0.8 per cent to 9.02 ringgit. Genting Malaysia lost 0.3 per cent to 3.37 ringgit.

Jakarta added 1.07 per cent, or 44.86 points, to 4,225.02. Coal company Bumi Resources, surged 9.0 per cent to 730 rupiah, mining company Antam rose 1.5 per cent to 1,350 rupiah, and car maker Astra International jumped 1.39 per cent to 7,300 rupiah.

Bangkok climbed 0.91 per cent, or 11.61 points, to 1,286.11. Coal producer Banpu edged up 0.51 per cent to 392.00 baht, while oil company PTT added 0.30 per cent to 329.00 baht.

Mumbai fell 0.28 per cent, or 52.67 points, to 18,579.50. Sterlite Industries, the local unit of global resources Vedanta group, fell 2.93 per cent to 97.75 rupees while TCS, India’s biggest software outsourcer, fell 1.33 per cent to 1,269.3 rupees. Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines rose 8.03 per cent to 16.96 rupees.—AFP