Most of Asian stock markets opened lower on
Thursday, but during day recovered and closed higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng
Index edged up 0.5%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 0.2% whereas
Shanghai Composite Index and South Korea's Kospi each added 0.3% and 0.6%
respectively. Only Japanese equities extended losses as investors returned from
holiday and share prices reflected yesterday's global developments.