Hong Kong ends its run of losses

Stocks in the region made their first weekly gain for a month as investor fears receded over eurozone weakness arising from Greece’s sovereign debt.

The FTSE Asia-Pacific climbed 1.6 per cent to 221.86 and had its first run of four positive sessions since the start of the year.

The week’s biggest gainer among the leading regional indices was Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which advanced 3.1 per cent to 20,268.69, regaining ground after four straight weeks of losses.

News that China’s central bank will raise reserve requirements for lenders came after the region’s markets closed on Friday.

The Shanghai Composite has slid 8 per cent this year because of concerns that the People’s Bank of China would make further moves to tighten monetary policy and the index could slump a further 5 per cent in the week after the Chinese new year holiday, Reuters reported.

“Chinese equities will face some short-term weakness, particularly Chinese banks and property stocks,” said Andy Mantel of Pacific Sun Investment Management.

Stocks in Hong Kong and China surged on Thursday after news that the mainland’s inflation figures were lower than forecast.

The Shanghai Composite climbed 2.7 per cent to 3018.13. The index of mainland stocks listed in Hong Kong, or H shares, rose 3.6 per cent to 11,536.36.

Geely Automobile jumped 8 per cent to HK$3.64 after reporting that sales were up 137 per cent from last year.

Brighter prospects for Australia’s job market after lower unemployment figures were released lifted Australian stocks, the S&P/ASX 200 index rising 1.1 per cent to 4,562.09.

Higher commodity prices lifted shares in related companies. BHP Billiton advanced 3.2 per cent to A$40.82 after the large miner posted full-year profit that surprised analysts.

Baoshan Iron and Steel, China’s biggest steelmaker, made a 9.3 per cent gain to Rmb8.02.

In Tokyo, Asahi Glass Co rose 5.7 per cent to Y946.00 after forecasting higher profit.

The Nikkei 225 Average, which was closed on Thursday for a holiday, nudged 0.4 per cent higher to 10,092.19. The broader Topix crept up 0.04 per cent to 892.16.

Toyota shares rose 2.1 per cent to Y3.06 even as the beleaguered automobile company made a third recall of 437,000 cars globally.

Akio Toyoda, the company’s president, agreed to attend US Congress hearings on safety issues at the end of the month.

South Korea’s Kospi index gained 1.6 per cent to 1,593.66 while India’s BSE Sensex moved 2.3 per cent higher to 16,152.59.

Markets in China and Taiwan will be closed next week for the Chinese new year and Singapore and Hong Kong will be closed on Monday and Tuesday.