Asia stocks rebound after Wall Street rout

11-22-2008 | AP

Asian strategy is to sell into any strength, according to CIMB Securities analyst

Panama Star BANGKOK, THAILAND. Most Asian markets rebounded Friday after sharp declines in recent days as investors scooped up battered financial and technology shares.

Major Asian benchmarks opened lower after Wall Street tumbled to multiyear lows overnight but climbed into positive territory in afternoon trading. Oil prices, which had fallen below $49 a barrel to three-year lows in early trading, also bounced back.

"After tanking for so many days there will always be a belief that you just can't draw a straight line down. There may be a day or a day and a half of respite," said Song Seng Wun, head of research at CIMB Securities in Singapore. "But there is still a lot of uncertainty. If there was some announcement of help for the U.S. auto industry that might buy us some time but the strategy still seems to be to sell into any strength," he said.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 207.75, or 2.7 percent, to 7,910.79, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 360.64 points, or 2.9 percent, to 12,763.81.