(RTTNews) - The stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed mostly higher Friday after Wall Street finished in positive territory Thursday. After a directionless morning session, most Asian markets moved into positive territory after the New York Times reported that the U.S. government was considering taking over the two top mortgage finance companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. However, India’s Sensex plunged 3.3%.

Oil prices continued to remain a matter of concern. Crude futures climbed above $144.05 a barrel in Asian trade after surging as much as $5.6 to finish at $141.65 a barrel in U.S. trading Thursday.

On the currency front, the dollar regained ground to lower 107-yen levels in late Tokyo deals and traded flat with Thursday’s late quotes. The greenback, however, closed lower against the South K9orean won at 1,002.3. The Aussie and the kiwi also edged higher against the dollar to US$0.9605-0.9609and US$0.7579 respectively.

The Japanese market closed slightly lower, reversing Thursday’s marginal gains. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 27.52 points or 0.21% to finish at 13,039.69 after the key index briefly fell below the 13,000 mark. The index has lost 1.5% over the week. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed down 4.85 points or 0.38% at 1,285.91.

On the economic front, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in its latest report that Japan’s industrial output rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.8%, slower than the initial estimate of 2.9%.

Meanwhile, the cabinet office said that Japanese consumer confidence slumped to the lowest on record. The Cabinet Office’s quarterly consumer sentiment index worsened to 32.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis in June from 36.5 in March.

Major banks pared early losses and moved into positive territory. Mizuho Financial Group gained 1.7%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rose 0.6% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial added 0.4%. High tech issues also rose, with Advantest surging 7.6% and Tokyo Electron gaining 3.7%.

Property counters fell as investors locked in profits following two days of gains. Mitsubishi Estate fell 2.8%, Mitsui Fudosan dropped 1.2% and Sumitomo Realty & Development declined 0.7%.

Oil-related issues gained. Gas and oil field developer Inpex Holdings jumped 3.3% and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK climbed 0.7%. Sumitomo Metal Mining rose 2.4% and Itochu advanced 1.9%

Toyota Motor dropped 1.8% after the automaker said that it would cut back operations at three U.S. factories for about three months to accelerate a production shift in North America towards smaller cars amid plunging demand for large cars.

Shinsei Bank lost 3.0% after reports said that the bank is in final talks with General Electric to buy its Tokyo-based consumer finance unit.

The South Korean market closed higher, extending Thursday’s 1.2% gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI rose 30.08 points or 1.96% to finish at 1,567.51.

Tech exporters and automakers posted significant gains. Market leader Samsung Electronics gained 1.4% and chipmaking giant Hynix Semiconductor surged 4.6%. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor soared 5.0%.

Top shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries advanced 2.1%, but Korean Air Lines and its rival Asiana Airlines lost 0.1% each.

Banks rebounded, with Kookmin Bank gaining 2.1% and Shinhan Financial surging 3.4 %. POSCO rose 2.2%. The world’s fourth-largest steelmaker said that its second-quarter earnings climbed to a record high on cost-saving efforts, solid demand and higher steel prices.

KCC, a major chemical product supplier, soared 7.1% after Woori Investment & Securities gave a positive outlook for its new polisillicon business.

The Chinese market closed lower for a second day, led by property stocks. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 18.82 points or 0.65% at 2,856.63. After rising about 9% in the first three days of the week amid strong first-half earnings forecast by blue chip banks and property developers, the key index finished the week with 7.0% gains. The key index posted gains for the first week after seven weeks of losses.

Top property developer China Vanke plunged 3.9% and Gemdale fell 4.5%. DBS Group Research said in a note Thursday that China’s property sales are expected to remain sluggish in the current quarter following a slowdown in June.

But Chalco gained 2.9% and Yunnan Aluminium jumped 3.0% after aluminum prices hit reord levels in London on Thursday following China’s top 20 smelters’ decision to cut output by up to 10%.

Among steelmakers, Angang Steel lost 2.2% after the company warned of a drop in 2008 net proft due to changes in accounting standards. Baoshan Iron & Steel fell 2.5%.

In the airline sector, China Southern Airlines dropped 1.5%. Index heavyweight PetroChina shed 1.2% after crude for August delivery rose $5.60 to $141.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange onThursday.

Banks closed mixed. China Construction Bank lost 1.1%, but China CITIC Bank rose 0.7%.

The Hong Kong market closed higher, led by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, telecoms heavyweight China Mobile, mainland banks and Chalco.

The benchmark Hang Seng index closed up 362.77 points or 1.66% at 22,184.55. For the week, the index has gained 761 points or 3.55%.

Among large-caps, China Mobile gained 2.7%, HSBC edged up 0.3%, HKEx surged 5.2% and China Life advanced 1.8%.

Chalco soared more than 6% after China’s top 20 aluminum smelters decided to cut their output by up to 10%, sending aluminum prices to a record high in London overnight.

Gainers among banks included China Construction Bank 2.2%, ICBC and Bank of Communications 2.0% eah, China Merchants Bank 1.5% and Bank of China 1.2%.

The Australian market closed higher, led by the resources sector. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 42.5 points or 0.9% at 4,979.9, reversing Thursday’s 1.5% decline. The broader All Ordinaries index gained 47.3 points or 0.9% to finish at 5,067.8.

On the economic front, Australia’s calendar of economic data releases was clear for the day.

Banks closed weak. Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank dropped 0.6% each, ANZ fell 2.3% and Westpac slipped 0.3%. St. George bank edged down 0.2%, but investment bank Macquarie Group gained 2.2%. National Australia Bank said that it was in talks to buy ABN AMRO’s operations in Australia and New Zealand and that it may make additional provisions for its A$1.1 billion worth of collateral debt obligations exposure.

Higher base metals prices overnight boosted the big miners. Index leader BHP Billiton surged 4.0% and its takeover target Rio Tinto jumped 3.6%.

Gold miners finished firmer on higher gold prices in Sydney. Lihir Gold soared 6.3% and Newcrest Mining gained 5.5%.

Among energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum jumped 4.7%, Oil Search gained 1.9% and Santos climbed 2.7%.

Midwest Corp. rose 1.6% after the Chinese steelmaking giant Sinosteel raised its majority stake in iron ore miner Midwest to 50.97% from 47.14%.

CSR Ltd closed up 5.1% after falling about 14% on Thursday in response to a profit downgrade.

Retailers continue to be under pressure after the release of negative consumer confidence data on Wednesday. Harvey Norman plunged 2.9%, Wesfarmers lost 2.0% and Woolworths declined 1.5%, while David Jones closed unchanged.

The New Zealand market closed slightly higher, reversing Thursday’s sharp decline. After opening higher, the market slid to a fresh three-year low by noon following the release of house prices data. But recovered some ground going into close of the trading session as other regional markets pared their early losses and moved into positive territory. However, higher oil prices raised concerns about consumer spending and corporate profits and capped the gains.

The benchmark NZX 50 index closed up 8.98 points or 0.29% at 3,121.54, extending Thursday’s 2.1% plunge. The broader NZX All Capital index added 9.44 points or 0.3% to finish at 3,167.71.

Data revealed by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand showed that house prices fell for the third month in a row in June and that the number of sales hit 16-year lows.

Top stock Telecom added 0.6% after losing 4% on Thursday. The Commerce Commission said that the company has apparently breached its separation undertakings for the first time. The commission also noted that the breach appeared to be unintentional. Second-ranked Contact Energy rose 1.2%, but Fletcher Building lost 0.8%.

In the retail sector, clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson fell 1.2%, extending Thursday’s 3.4% drop in the wake of an expected 30% fall in annual net profit. Michael Hill dropped 1.3%, while The Warehouse Group added 1.0% and Pumpkin Patch closed unchanged.

Property investment stocks were hit, with AMP Office Trust falling 0.9%, Property for Industry declining 1.7% and blue chip Kiwi Income Property Trust closing flat.

Diligent Board Member Services jumped 16.0% after the company reported net second quarter sales of $US698,000 or $NZ932,158, a 66% increase on year-over-year basis.

Electricity generator and retailer TrustPower rose 1.3% after the company said that its 2008-2009 earnings might grow around 15%, despite a dry and mild period hitting its electricity generation.

Other Asian markets:

Taiwan’s Taiex closed up 2.4% at 7,244; Singapore’s STI closed up 0.9% at 2,926; Malaysia’s KLCI closed up 1.3% at 1,150; Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite index closed flat at 2,276; and India’s Sensex closed down 3.3% at 13,469.

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