Asian markets reverse early losses to close higher (MarketWatch) (27-05-2010)

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian markets finally closed higher on Thursday, as bargain-hunters shopped for shares that had been hit in the recent rout, ranging from Australian miners to Chinese banks and South Korean technology stocks.

The advance came despite a weak finish on Wall Street and against a backdrop of the euro's advance against major currencies, which has come to symbolize investor risk appetite of late.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Average rose 1.2% to 9,639.72, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.7%, China's Shanghai Composite added 1.2%, South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.6%, Taiwan's Taiex expanded 1.1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 1.2%.

Indonesia's JAX, which shot up 7.3% for its highest percentage gain on record in the previous session after a series of down sessions, advanced a further 0.7% in afternoon trading. Indian's Sensex gaining 0.9% and Singapore's Straits Times climbed 1.5%.

Technology stocks paced gains in Seoul to help the Kospi rebound after the benchmark fell more than 1% in the opening minutes. Heavyweight stock Samsung Electronics gained 2.9% and LG Electronics rose 2%. Jay Koo, an analyst at Kyobo Securities in Seoul, said the tech sector's recent weakness could be an excellent buying opportunity given expectations for strong demand for semiconductors and liquid-crystal displays this year.

Elsewhere, New Zealand's NZX 50 ended 0.8% higher and Philippine stocks climbed 1%, while Thailand's SET Index advanced 1.3% by late afternoon.

Source: MarketWatch