HONG KONG, Nov 23, 2007 (AFP) - Asian stocks closed mostly up Friday but trade was cautious with Tokyo shut for a holiday and investors still concerned about US economic prospects.

Hong Kong posted the biggest gain, rising 2.1 percent as investors hunted for bargains after two days of heavy falls.

Shanghai closed up 0.96 percent, only partially reversing a near 4.5 percent slide Thursday that triggered concerns a bear market could be underway on mainland China.

Among other major markets Taipei closed down 1.85 percent to a three-month low and Seoul ended 1.5 percent lower in its longest losing streak in more than three years.

Sydney edged down 0.1 percent ahead of the Australian election Saturday.

Investors in Asia were still concerned about the US economy, which is struggling with a credit crunch after a mortgage default crisis and is thought at risk of a sharp slowdown.

But Singapore managed to rise 0.39 percent and Mumbai jumped up 1.76 percent, snapping six days of losses in India, partly on bargain hunting.

Tokyo was shut for a public holiday. Trading resumes Monday.

TOKYO: Closed.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed up 2.1 percent as investors hunted for bargains in large-caps, property stocks and China banks, dealers said.

But they added turnover was relatively low which could indicate caution due to the US subprime crisis, high oil prices and China's efforts to rein in its economy and fund flows.

The Hang Seng index closed up 536.17 points at 26,541.09, off a low of 26,305.45 and a high of 26,723.34. Turnover was 104.89 billion Hong Kong dollars (13.48 billion US).

"The rebound was not very strong as the market lacked (sufficient) positive leads," said Kenny Tang, director at Tung Tai Securities.

Local property tycoon Lee Shau-kee, dubbed "Asia's Warren Buffett," said that he was ready to invest 10 billion Hong Kong dollars in the stock market, boosting sentiment.

But analysts said that it would only provide a short-term boost.

"I don't think the recovery is sustainable, given the lack of confidence of many investors after the market dropped fast and sharp in recent trading sessions," said Alex Wong of asset management manager Ample Capital.

For the week, the index was down 1,073.34 points or 3.9 percent.

Sinotrans Shipping -- China's third-largest dry bulk shipper -- closed 13 percent below its initial public offering price on its first day of trading.

CNOOC surged 4.0 percent on high crude prices and news that it is among the stocks viewed by Lee Shau-kee as a good investment bet.

Short-term sentiment was also bolstered by China Railway's oversubscribed near 20-billion-dollar initial public offering.

China Mobile gained 3.00 dollars to 129.50, HSBC was up 1.50 dollars at 131.70 and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing rose 3.00 dollars to 214.00.

SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed 0.96 percent up on a technical rebound led by financial stocks and strength in the local currency, dealers said.

"The index swung to positive territory and climbed fast in the last half trading hour, largely driven by technical factors," said Wu Feng, an analyst at TX Investment Consulting.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed up 47.97 points to 5,032.13. Turnover was 50.21 billion yuan (6.69 billion US dollars), the lowest level since December 28, 2006.

The Shanghai A-share Index rose 50.81 points or 0.97 percent at 5,281.78 on turnover of 49.57 billion yuan. The Shenzhen A-share Index added 20.34 points or 1.55 percent at 1,334.40 on turnover of 23.69 billion yuan.

China Railway Group said it had attracted 3.383 trillion yuan (451.07 billion US dollars) in subscriptions for its listing next month, exceeding the previous record of 3.378 trillion yuan set by PetroChina in October.

PetroChina shares have fallen steadily since its spectacular IPO earlier this month when it gained 163 percent. They closed down 0.52 yuan at 34.59 Friday, near the original offer price of 33.75.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China added 0.14 yuan to 7.90 and Huaxia Bank surged 1.50 yuan or 8.16 percent to 19.89.

China Southern Airlines soared 2.13 yuan or the 10 percent daily limit to 23.44 and Air China rose 1.41 yuan to 20.66.

Sinopec gained 0.22 yuan to 22.32 in choppy trade.

The Shanghai B-share Index fell 2.62 points or 0.77 percent to 336.52 on turnover of 642.49 million US dollars.

The Shenzhen B-share Index fell 1.40 points or 0.20 percent at 681.66 on turnover of 414.76 million Hong Kong dollars (53.31 million US dollars).

TAIPEI: Taiwanese share prices closed 1.85 percent lower to a three-month low, as optimism over domestic economic growth gave way to concern about global volatility, dealers said.

The weighted index closed down 157.17 points at the day's low of 8,342.20, and off a high of 8.559.05, on turnover of 106.77 billion Taiwan dollars (3.30 billion US).

"Bargain hunters must have been burnt badly if they had tried their luck in this erratic market recently," said Oliver Fang of Yuanta Core Pacific Securities.

Decliners led risers 1,826 to 281, with 292 stocks unchanged. A total of 42 stocks closed limit-down and five limit-up.

Better than expected Taiwanese third-quarter economic growth of 6.92 percent, announced Thursday, helped the market to a firm start but it then fell away, dealers said.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was down 0.30 at 59.60 dollars and United Microelectronics Corp. fell 0.20 to 19.70.

China Steel closed up 0.40 at 41.60 but Taiwan Cement was down 1.35 at 44.05.

SEOUL: South Korean share prices finished 1.5 percent lower after a volatile session as investors dumped stocks on worries over the shaky outlook for the US economy, dealers said.

The KOSPI index closed down 26.14 points at 1,772.88 after trading between 1,745.26 and 1,820.61. The benchmark index shed nearly eight percent this week.

The market finished in the red for the seventh straight session, the longest losing streak in more than three years.

"The market made a big drop today as investors were convinced that the selldown will continue and literally dumped stocks out of disappointment," said Kim Min-Sung, analyst at Bookook Securities.

Volume was 322 million shares worth 7.5 trillion won (8.05 billion dollars).

Mirae Asset Securities tumbled 23,000 won or 14.3 percent to 138,000 won as investors dumped the stock for the fourth straight day on fears of a regulatory probe into the company.

Hyundai Heavy fell 18,500 won or 4.5 percent to 390,500 and Doosan Heavy dipped 7,000 won or 5.4 percent to 122,000 won.

Samsung Electronics rose 18,000 won or 3.3 percent to 557,000 as investors bet that the conditions in the industry would improve next year, recovering from a year-long oversupply.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 0.1 percent in subdued trade ahead of Saturday's general election with a lack of direction from the US due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 4.1 points at 6,330.2, off a high of 6,344.4 and a low of 6,312.7. It was down 131.7 points or 2.0 percent on last Friday's close.

The broader All Ordinaries index closed down 2.7 points at 6,392.4.

"It's a fairly subdued end to the week," said Joseph Youssef, a private client advisor at Macquarie Equities.

The lack of fresh leads from the US overnight and election uncertainty weighed on investors, dealers said. Polls suggested the opposition was set for victory.

The US subprime mortgage default crisis also overshadowed the market, they said.

A total of 2.7 billion shares worth around 4.1 billion Australian dollars (3.6 billion US) changed hands, with 620 stocks closing up, 634 closing down and 370 stocks unchanged.

In resources, BHP Billiton was 17 cents lower at 40.27 dollars while its takeover target Rio Tinto was down 37 cents at 128.40 dollars.

Publishing and Broadcasting gained 10 cents after shareholders cleared the way for a demerger of its gaming and media assets into two separate companies, closing at 19.55 dollars.

Telstra was unchanged at 4.63 dollars.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.39 percent higher in cautious trading amid continuing market uncertainty, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index closed up 13.01 points at 3,325.89 on volume of 1.42 billion shares worth 1.53 billion dollars (1.06 billion US).

Rising issues edged decliners 381 to 332 while 990 were unchanged.

"Investors were very cautious," said Terence Wong of DMG & Partners Securities.

Concerns that Singapore valuations remain expensive weighed on sentiment, dealers said.

City Developments rose 20 cents to 13.70 Singapore dollars. Singapore Telecommunications rose four cents to 3.72.

Neptune Orient Lines gained 12 cents to 4.20, and Chartered Semiconductor was three cents higher at 1.10. United Overseas Bank fell 20 cents to 18.80.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed up 0.7 percent due to a technical rebound amid lean trading volumes, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) gained 9.39 points to 1,353.55.

Volume was 679.486 million shares valued at 1.07 billion ringgit (319 million dollars).

Terence Wong, head of research at CIMB Investment Bank, said Malaysia's strong economic fundamentals and "quite decent" earnings underpinned buying interest.

State-run Telekom Malaysia and national power company Tenaga each gained 10 sen to 10.50 ringgit and 9.05 ringgit respectively.

Maybank, Malaysia's largest bank, also added 10 sen to 11.60 ringgit.

AirAsia, Southeast Asia's largest budget airline, fell one sen at 1.77 ringgit ahead of the release of its first-quarter results.

Proton Holdings dropped two sen to 4.04 ringgit.

BANGKOK: Thai share prices closed 1.91 percent higher in a technical rebound, dealers said.

However, they said the gains could be short-lived as investors remain cautious amid continuing uncertainty in global stock markets.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index jumped 15.43 points to close at 824.25 and the blue-chip SET-50 index rose 13.23 points to 603.00.

"It's a technical rebound, and the index is moving in line with regional trends," said Kitti Hamnilrat, an analyst at Ayudya Securities.

The gain was fuelled by local investors looking for bargains after a week of losses, he said.

Turnover was 2.2 billion shares worth 16.8 billion baht (496.6 million dollars).

The country's largest lender Bangkok Bank dropped 1.00 baht at 114.00 baht, but Kasikornbank rose 1.50 to 81.50 and Siam Commercial Bank added 0.50 baht at 82.50.

PTT Plc gained 4.00 to 360.00 baht and its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production jumped 8.00 to 147.00 baht.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.6 percent higher led by car maker Astra International and mining stocks, but gains were limited, dealers said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 14.83 points at 2,584.35 on volume of 2.18 billion shares worth 3.55 trillion rupiah (381 million dollars).

For the week, the main index fell 84.35 points or 3.2 percent.

"Trading volume was thin as some market players remained cautious about the health of the US economy and its impact on global financial markets," said Henan Putihrai analyst Thombos Sitanggang.

Automotive company Astra International rose 800 rupiah to 23,200 and oil and gas producer Medco was up 250 at 5,400.

Coal producer Bumi Resources rose 325 to 4,650. Nickel and gold miner Antam rose 300 to 4,650. Plantation company Astra Agro rose 750 to 21,950.

Telkom fell 150 to 10,050 while rival Indosat advanced 250 to 8,800 after announcing that its net profit for the first nine months rose 56 percent to 1.45 trillion rupiah, helped by stronger sales.

MANILA: Philippine share prices closed 0.5 percent higher in a technical rebound led by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., snapping a three-day decline, dealers said.

They said technical problems had forced the stock exchange to revert to manual computing during the session.

The composite index closed up 15.50 points at 3,494.44. The broader all-share index closed up 5.94 points at 2,127.71.

"There was selective bargain-hunting but most investors were still wary despite the attractive valuations," said Grace Cerdenia of 2Trade Asia.

A total of 1.8 billion shares worth 3.9 billion pesos (90.69 million dollars) were traded.

PLDT added 10 pesos to 3,010 pesos.

Power producer First Gen Corp. gained 2.50 pesos to 60.50 pesos after the government declared its consortium the winning bidder for a 60 percent stake in PNOC-Energy Development Corp. PNOC-EDC inched up 10 centavos to 7.0 pesos.

San Miguel Corp.'s A-shares lost three pesos to 42.50 pesos. Its B-shares fell 1.50 pesos to 44 pesos.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices rose 0.41 percent in cautious, low volume trading in the wake of the US Thanksgiving holiday, dealers said.

The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 16.78 points to close at 4,071.00 on turnover worth 71.2 million dollars (53.8 million US).

"The over-riding theme was one of extreme caution," said ABN Amro broker Matt Willis.

Local exporters were being hurt by the high New Zealand dollar, he said.

Market leader Telecom rose seven cents to 4.27 dollars, providing most of the index's upward momentum.

Fletcher Building fell five cents to 11.75 dollars despite being named as the prime contractor to revamp Auckland's rugby stadium Eden Park ahead of the 2011 World Cup.

Contact Energy rose four cents to 8.89 dollars. Casino operator Sky City ended unchanged on 5.18 dollars with bids for the firm expected soon.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices rose 1.76 percent on bargain hunting, snapping six days of losses triggered by weak US growth projections, dealers said.

They said capital goods, property and metal stocks all rose, but that sentiment remained cautious.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex index rose 326.55 points to 18,852.87.

The Sensex had fallen over seven percent in the past six days.

"Bargain-hunting saw the markets recovering ... Volatility at higher levels will keep the markets rangebound," said Advait Date of BHH Securities.