Asian stocks edged up in quiet trade on Friday, as investors sifted through the remains of a record sixth consecutive month of falls for global equity markets, hoping to find some bargains as 2008 winds down.Regional shares tacked on a sixth day of gains, though optimism was in short supply with deteriorating economic prospects for China and Japan as well as simmering political risks in India, where fighting raged on in Mumbai, and Thailand, where the prime minister has declared a state of emergency.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was near its lowest in 50 years, below 3 percent, with bond dealers anticipating a deep and lasting U.S. recession. The cost of insurance against a U.S. government debt default, an unthinkable event, shot to record highs on Thursday, as concern grows about the scale of programs to prop up the financial system.
Oil prices fell toward $53 a barrel, ahead of a meeting of OPEC ministers in Cairo to discuss the possibility of more supply cuts as global recession reduces energy demand.
"On a range of measures, there is undoubted value to be found in many of the worlds equity markets," said Sarah Arkle, chief investment officer with Threadneedle Asset Management.
"However, with economic and earnings expectations in a state of flux, there are also significant risks and translating valuation metrics into regional preferences is highly dependent on earnings and dividend inputs," Arkle said in a note on the outlook for 2009.
Japan's Nikkei share average (Osaka:^N225 - News) rose 0.6 percent with some stocks in the technology sector, such as Kyocera Corp (Tokyo:6971.T - News), pushing the index higher for a second day.
However, shares of Panasonic Corp (Tokyo:6752.T - News), the world's largest plasma TV maker, dove 11 percent after it slashed its net profit forecast for the current business year by 90 percent.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside of Japan (^MIAPJ0000PUS - News) climbed 1.3 percent, putting in on track for a sixth day of gains. The index was still locked in a steep downward trend that has knocked it down about 57 percent so far this year.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (HKSE:^HSI - News) rose 2 percent, led by China Mobile (HKSE:0941.HK - News), whose recent gains and been lower than the broader market.
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