Asian shares mixed as bargain-hunters move in

HONG KONG — Asian markets were mixed in early trade on Wednesday as bargain-hunting in the wake of a big sell-off earlier in the week was capped by lingering concerns over Greece’s sovereign debt.

BARGAIN-HUNTERS’ DAY. A pedestrian walks past a share prices board in Tokyo on Sept. 13, 2011. Japan's stocks prices rose 80.88 points to close at 8,616.55 points at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, aided by bargain hunting and a respite in the euro's fall against the yen. AFP

Investors were cautious ahead of a conference call between the leaders of Greece, Germany and France later in the global day.

Tokyo was 0.20 percent down by the break, Hong Kong gained 0.83 percent, Shanghai climbed 0.50 percent and Sydney was flat.

Seoul, which opened for the first time this week after a public holiday, tumbled 1.21 percent.

Markets took their lead from New York, where all three major indices posted healthy gains on hopes for a good outcome from Wednesday’s three-way talks.

The Dow rose 0.40 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.91 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied 1.49 percent.

The teleconference between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou comes after markets were hammered on Monday by renewed fears of a Greek default.

But Germany and France denied rumours that they had ne proposals for a Greek rescue plan.

The euro and stock markets were buoyed on Tuesday by reports that China was in talks to buy Italian government bonds.

However, dealers remain tense as they fear Greece’s troubles are far from over, while there are also concerns that other economies could be sucked into the crisis, with Italy and Spain the most at risk.

“The market is certainly cheap [after recent falls], but there is a lot of caution about,” said Macquarie Private Wealth investment adviser James Rosenberg.

“The European debt crisis is not over and this is just a lull in the storm. Global risks have risen in the past month,” he told Dow Jones Newswires.

The euro remained under pressure, buying $1.3669 in early Asian trade, slightly down from $1.3689 in New York late Tuesday but well up from the $1.3500 it touched on Monday.

The European common currency also edged down to 105.13 yen from 105.21 in New York but also much higher than the 10-year lows around 104 seen on Monday. The dollar was flat at 76.91 yen.

Oil prices were depressed due to worries that the eurozone crisis will dampen demand.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, was down 71 cents to $89.50 a barrel in morning trade, and Brent North Sea crude for October settlement eased nine cents to $111.80.

Gold was trading at $1,833.54 an ounce at 0100 GMT on Wednesday, up from $1,818.60 in late trade Tuesday.