Market Report - Asia Ticks Higher

Asian markets gained broadly Friday, boosted by rising crude and metal prices. But economic concerns capped market enthusiasm in the region. The Nikkei gained, with tire maker Bridgestone up on a higher profit outlook. Automaker Suzuki also raced to a 10-month high after reports that Volkswagen was exploring a business venture with the company to make ultra-small cars. Japanese oil-related stocks jumped after a local paper reported that a group of companies led by Nippon Oil was in the final stages of a $10 billion development contract for a huge Iraqi oil field. That would be the biggest foreign oil deal since the fall of Saddam Hussein. But, Japan also reported its greatest price fall on record in the year to May, underscoring doubts about whether the economy was starting to turn the corner. In Australia, shares were lifted by oil producers and airline Qantas, which scrapped 15 orders for Boeing's Dreamliner and deferred another 15 for four years in a move to save $3 billion. In Seoul, steelmakers like world No.4 POSCO rose on a jump in Chinese spot steel prices to four-month highs.

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News & Politics

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