HONG KONG - ASIAN shares edged higher on Tuesday after the latest bounce on Wall Street failed to dispel fears about a US recession, while supply worries kept commodity prices high.

Global investors are alert for any sign of further fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis which could weaken the financial sector and are worried about a possible downgrade of US bond insurers, so-called monolines such as MBIA Inc.

'There's been talk for a long time that a (credit) rate cut decision on the monoline firms was due in mid-February, and we're almost there now,' said Mr Nagayuki Yamagishi, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

'Even though people know this is likely to happen, and when, the fact is that there is still quite a lot of worry out there about the issue.'

The grim stock market mood has given Japanese government bonds some support, but buyers were reluctant to jump into bonds before the March 31 fiscal year end, dealers said.

But the US index bounced 0.5 per cent on Monday, as General Motors Corp surged 5 per cent on positive broker comments and oil stocks Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp gained from an oil price rally.

KUALA LUMPUR

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended firmer on Tuesday on a mild technical rebound, supported by plantation stocks which helped the key index to be anchored in positive territory, dealers said.

Among plantation stocks, IOI Corp rose 25 sen to RM7.75, Kuala Lumpur Kepong went up 20 sen to RM18.10 and Kulim added 15 sen to RM8.25 following higher crude palm oil prices.

A dealer said most investors also took the opportunity to enter the market after the long Lunar New Year break.

At the close, the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) rose 0.72 per cent or 10.14 points to 1,417.52. It had opened 1.82 points higher at 1,409.20.

The Industrial Index gained 12.77 points to 2,985.20, the Finance Index added 31.98 points to 10,699.0 and the Plantation Index advanced 144.0 points to 8,137.05.

Of the FTSE-BM Index series, FBMEmas firmed 44.53 points to 9,581.34 and FBM30 went up 44.47 points to 9,274.73.

FBM2BRD rose 24.23 points to 6,609.28 and FBM-MDQ climbed 10.30 points to 5,819.43.

Gainers outnumbered losers 458 to 294 while 232 counters were unchanged, 437 untraded and 21 suspended.

The day's volume stood at 843.095 million shares worth RM1.635 billion, up from Monday's 620.664 million shares worth RM1.444 billion.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong stocks on Tuesday recouped some of their sharp losses from a day earlier, as gains on Wall Street prompted investors to bid up shares across the board.

Resource shares were out in front as oil prices hit one-month highs. Turnover was thin, however, indicating a lack of buying conviction as investors awaited the reopening of the domestic Chinese A-share market on Wednesday after the Lunar New Year holiday.

'There's no theme in the market,' said Peter Pak, director at BOCI Securities. 'People are hoping A shares will provide some direction, but there is no major news or events so people may be putting too much hope in that.'

In the near term, the Hang Seng will try to reclaim the 250-day moving average, or just below 23,700 points, he noted.

He added that some investors were already eyeing the annual National People's Congress set to open next month when Beijing may announce an easing in the country's monetary policy.

Bank of East Asia, the first Hong Kong-listed commercial bank due to report its earnings on Friday, will also provide fresh clues for investors.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 1.4 per cent, or 305.56 points, at 22,921.67. The China Enterprises index of H shares, or Hong Kong-listed shares in mainland companies, gained 1.6 per cent, or 206.09 points, to 12,736.69.

Mainboard turnover was HK$67.2 billion (S$12.2 billion) compared to Monday's HK$76.4 billion.

Global lender HSBC Holdings plc was the day's top traded stock, advancing nearly one per cent to HK$110.30.

Wireless operator China Mobile climbed 1.8 per cent to HK$114.70.

Among resource stocks, PetroChina Co Ltd, the country's top oil producer, rang up a 2.8 per cent gain to HK$10.94. Offshore oil producer CNOOC Ltd jumped 2.4 per cent to HK$11.28.

Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco), the country's top alumina producer, jumped 2.1 per cent to HK$11.82. Jiangxi Copper scurried up 3.5 per cent to HK$14.80.

Ping An declined 0.3 per cent to HK$54.05 after Goldman Sachs cut the stock to neutral from buy, saying the life insurer faced capex challenges and needed to unfreeze non-tradeable shares, among other difficulties.

Goldman also cut the country's top non-life insurer PICC to sell from neutral on macro uncertainties and a dampened earnings outlook. Shares underperformed with a 0.3 per cent gain to HK$7.49.

Shares in newcomer New Media ended at HK$1.44, up 111.7 per cent from their IPO price after the company raised HK$87.61 million in a Hong Kong IPO.

TOKYO

Japan's benchmark Nikkei ended flat in seesaw trade on Tuesday, as sharp gains in high-tech firm TDK Corp and oil exploration company Inpex Holdings Inc were offset by steep falls in insurance shares.

Millea Holdings Inc and rival insurers were sold heavily after American International Group Inc disclosed potential losses in its derivatives portfolio, raising fears it would become the latest casualty of the credit crisis.

The benchmark Nikkei ended up 0.04 per cent at 13,021.96. The broader Topix was down 0.1 per cent at 1,286.10.

SHANGHAI

The Chinese market is closed from Feb 6 to Feb 12 for the Lunar New Year Holidays. The market will reopen on Wednesday, Feb 13. -- AFP, REUTERS, BERNAMA