Asian Markets Recovers From Yesterday Debacle

Nikkei, Kospi Lead the Gain while Sensex, KLSE registered a fall

Asian Markets recovered from yesterday’s mayhem, as investors snapped up beaten-down shares. However the trading in region remain thin as the markets in the U.S. and U.K. were closed yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei and South Korean Kospi recorded a sharp recovery while Shanghai and Sydney posted modest gains.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was 1.5% higher at the end of the day closing at 13,893.31 The market has rebounded from a 2.3% decline in the previous session that left the benchmark at a two-week low. The Topix index added 1.8% to 1,368.25.

Commodity-related shares and financial stocks such as Commonwealth Bank eked out modest gains in Sydney. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.1% to 5,714.40.

South Korea's Kospi benchmark index climbed into positive territory after six losing sessions. South Korea's Kospi firmed 1.4% to 1,825.23.

Taiwan's Weighted Price Index was up 0.8% to 8,778.39 and Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.6% to 3,121.29. Malaysia's KLSE Composite added fell 0.1% to 1,272.01.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day 0.6% higher at 24,282.04 and the Hong Kong China Enterprise index added 0.8% to 13,330.08.

China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.3% to 3,375.41 while the Shenzhen Composite added 0.9% reaching 1,082.32 levels.

In the afternoon trading India's Sensitive Index, or Sensex, was down by 0.4% to 16,279.17 and the broader S&P/CNX Nifty fell 0.2% to 4,864.05.

Meanwhile, crude oil for July delivery climbed 95 cents to $133.14 a barrel in electronic trading at midday in Tokyo.

In currencies, the yen was quoted at 103.32 yen at midday in Tokyo, compared with 103.35 yen there late Monday.

The European markets advanced in their morning session taking a cue from the upbeat action in Asia, and fueled by strong gains from wireless giant Vodafone Group and chipmaker Infineon Technologies and an advance for the mining sector.

Overall, the U.K. FTSE 100 index advanced 0.8% to 6,136.10 as investors returned from a long holiday weekend, while the French CAC-40 index rose 0.4% to 4,958.14.

The German DAX 30 index climbed 0.2% to 6,790.35 as the economy posted a robust growth in the first quarter of 2008. On the quarter, real gross domestic product rose 1.5%, after gaining 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2007. The annual growth rate accelerated to 2.6% from 1.8% in the fourth quarter.

The data, which are adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects, are in line with preliminary GDP "flash" estimates the statistics office had published May 15.

Household spending, which has been sluggish for years, rose 0.3% on the quarter, adding 0.2 percentage point to the quarterly growth rate, the data showed.

On the quarter, investment in machinery and equipment surged 4.0%, which is above the 3.4% gain recorded in the previous quarter, the data showed.

A mild winter also buoyed construction spending, which gained 4.5% on the quarter, after declining 0.5% in October-December.

The sharp slowdown in U.S. economic growth and a stronger euro may also have left a mark on foreign trade, the data indicate. Net trade shaved 0.2 percentage points off Germany's quarterly growth rate, as exports rose 2.4% and imports increased 3.5%.

A strong build-up in inventories contributed 0.7% to GDP growth, the data showed.

Public consumption jumped 1.3% in the first quarter, after slipping 0.6% in the last three months of 2007.

Apart from this a composite indicator of French business confidence fell to 102 in May from 106 in April. The indicator reflects the level of positive business leader opinion on the overall output outlook, their own output outlook, past production, inventories and order books.