Asian equities eke out tiny gains

Some gains emerge on positive overnight US cues despite continued concerns about debt worries in Greece

Asian equities ended mixed today, as an attempt by the bulls to reinvigorate the sentiments in their favor on positive overnight US cues were encountered by continued concerns about debt worries in Greece. The US dollar also stayed higher throughout the Asian trades, be weighing on the markets as commodities slipped and weekend profit booking also kept advances under check for most of the Asian equities.

The Australian market ended with modest gains. Volumes were relatively lower as traders preferred to adopt a wait-and-watch approach awaiting more clues on global economy. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index added 9.10 points, or 0.19% to close at 4,872, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,890, representing a gain of 12.40 points, or 0.25%.

The stock market in Japan closed in positive territory on Friday, the last day of the trading week, on optimism about the US economy where the latest weekly jobless claims, despite rising marginally than forecast, confirmed that the employment situation is improving. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index advanced 80.69 points, or 0.75%, to 10,824, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues gained 8.14 points, or 0.87%, to 949.

On the economic front, a report released by the Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry revealed that all industry activity in the country climbed 3.8% in January from December. The report further noted that year-on-year, all industry activity was up 2.9% in January, rebounding from 1.5% fall in December.

Shares in China eked out small gains in a cautious session on Friday, with wary investors expecting Beijing to further tighten liquidity by lifting bank reserve ratios. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.71 at 3,067 points, its highest close since March 9.

In Mumbai, volatility was witnessed in the latter part of trading session as the key benchmarks pared gains after surging to two month highs. IT and realty stocks fell. But, PSU banks, auto and consumer durables stocks rose. The BSE 30-share Sensex was provisionally up 37.22 points or 0.21%, up close to 50 points from the day's low and off close to 45 points from the day's high.

In the U.S., stocks ended Thursday's trading mixed, as the markets digested a series of economic reports that showed only small steps forward for the ailing economy. The Dow and the Nasdaq rose by modest margins, while the S&P 500 closed just below the unchanged mark. The S&P 500 slipped by 0.39 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 1,166, while the Dow advanced by 45.50 points or 0.4% to 10,779 and the Nasdaq edged up by 2.19 points or 0.1% to 2,391.

US dollar stayed upbeat throughout the day, hitting a 10 session high of 1.3506 against the Euro. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet stated that strengthening longer-term confidence is crucial for the post-crisis economy and robust policy frameworks will be needed against future challenges. Light sweet crude oil futures for April delivery slipped to a low of $81.51 a barrel in electronic trading. The commodity currently trades at $81.63, down 57 cents per barrel from previous close.