Register.com

The Stoxx 600 lost 7.8% this week as companies from Danisco A/S to Bayer AG gave disappointing forecasts, China quelled speculation the government will add to its stimulus plan and HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, announced the largest rights offer by a British company.

GERMANY

German stocks posted their fourth straight weekly drop, sending the DAX Index to the lowest level since August 2004, as concern mounted the global recession will further depress earnings.

Metro AG, Germany's largest retailer, fell to a three-month low and Salzgitter AG, the country's second largest steelmaker, dropped for a second day. Infineon Technologies AG, Europe's second-largest chipmaker, tumbled 13% after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Japanese electronics makers need to raise capital. SAP AG slid 2.7%.

The benchmark DAX Index declined 0.8% to 3,666.41, extending its retreat this week to 4.6%. The HDAX Index of Germany's 110 biggest companies fell 1%.

Metro declined 3% to 20.07 Euros, the lowest since Nov. 20. Salzgitter dropped 2.8% to 41.32 Euros.

Infineon, Europe's second-largest maker of semiconductors, which generates about a third of its sales in the Asia-Pacific region, slumped 13% to 41 cents. SAP AG, the world's largest maker of business-management software, retreated 2.7% to 25.005 Euros.

Toshiba Corp., Elpida Memory Inc. and Pioneer Corp. are most in need of raising capital among Japanese electronics makers with deteriorating financial health, Goldman said.

Arques Industries AG surged 7.5% to 1 Euro. The investment company said it sold its Rohe unit and will have to account for extraordinary depreciation "in the low single- digit range" in its 2008 figures.

SGL Carbon SE fell 7.1% to 16.31 Euros. The world's largest maker of carbon and graphite products had its recommendation cut to "sell" from "buy" at DZ Bank AG, which said the company's outlook may be disappointing.

Takkt AG plunged 21% to 5.45 Euros, the steepest slide since its initial public offering in 1999. The business-to-business mail-order company announced it is introducing shortened shifts for its workers to help cut costs after revenue slumped about 30% in January and February. The sales trend is unlikely to change in March, Takkt said.

TUI AG, the travel company that's selling its Hapag-Lloyd shipping line, tumbled 8.2% to 3.37 Euros on renewed concern that the deal may collapse.

FRANCE

France's CAC 40 Index retreated 35.18, or 1.4%, to 2,534.45 in Paris, for a 6.2% decline this week. That's the index's fourth straight weekly drop. The SBF 120 Index slipped 1.5% Friday.

Financial shares, the biggest losers in the CAC 40 Index this week, extended declines. Dexia SA, the world's biggest lender to local governments, fell 5.4% to 1.14 Euros, extending this week's loss to 32% for the worst performance in the CAC 40.

Credit Agricole SA, France's second-largest bank, slid 7.7% to 6.11 Euros and is the second-worst performer in the CAC 40 over the five days with a 22% drop.

Societe Generale SA, the country's third-largest bank and the CAC 40's third-worst performing share this week, sank 6.6% to 19.84 Euros Friday.

BNP Paribas SA retreated 1.24 Euros, or 5.4%, to 21.73 Euros. France's biggest bank and the Belgian government are nearing a decision on a revised deal for Fortis's operations in Belgium and Luxembourg, Finance Minister Didier Reynders said in a radio interview before the start of an inner cabinet meeting in Brussels.

Total SA, Europe's largest oil refiner, added 42 cents, or 1.2%, to 35.99 Euros. Crude oil for April delivery rose as much as 4.2% to $45.45 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Veolia Environnement SA increased 56 cents, or 3.5%, to 16.51 Euros. The world's biggest water company has no plans for a capital increase under any circumstances, Chief Executive Officer Henri Proglio said. The company is targeting asset sales of 3 billion Euros through 2011 and will cut investment spending by 44% this year to boost profitability after a 56% drop in 2008 profit.

"There's a significant cost-cutting plan," said Benoit de Broissia, an equity analyst at KBL Richelieu Gestion in Paris, which oversees $2 billion. "It's positive in the short term, even if it's to the detriment of long-term growth."

BELGIUM

In Brussels the Bel 20 shed 1.6% Friday to bring the week to a close at 1,527.27.

Shares in Fortis surged on Friday as French bank BNP Paribas continued to wrestle with the Belgian government over the details of the break-up of the troubled Benelux financial group.

Fortis was split up by the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments in October, with BNP Paribas, France's largest bank by market value, purchasing its Belgian operations. However Fortis shareholders later attempted to shoot the deal down in a vote.

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the Belgian brewer that bought its biggest US rival last year, may move its headquarters to New York and list shares there to focus on the world's most profitable beer market, analysts said.

AB InBev said Thursday it will switch to reporting in Dollars from this quarter to reflect the increased importance of the US The acquisition of Anheuser's Budweiser and Bud Light, the two biggest-selling beers in the US, means the country now generates more than 40% of earnings, the company said.

In January, the world's biggest brewer said it would open a New York office and move some managers there from the town of Leuven in Belgium, where the company's roots date to the 14th century.

THE NETHERLANDS

In Amsterdam the AEX dropped 0.54% to close at 199.50.

ING fell a further 6.8% to €2.44.

Dutch broker Van der Moolen Holding said on Friday that it is scrapping plans to buy part of Dutch securities finance company GSFS BV for 43.3 million Euros ($54.7 million) in cash and shares.

SWITZERLAND

The SMI in Zurich plunged 1.79% on Friday to end the week at 4,311.61.

Roche Holding AG raised its offer to buy cancer-drug partner Genentech Inc. by 7.5% to $45.7 billion after investors said a higher price could speed completion of a 7 1/2-month takeover battle.

The Swiss drugmaker is offering Genentech shareholders $93 a share to buy the 44% of the US biotechnology company it doesn't already own. "We talked to a number of investors in Genentech and came to the sentiment that if we wanted to get this deal done in a reasonable amount of time, we needed to increase our offer," Roche Chairman Franz Humer said in a telephone interview Friday.

Genentech urged shareholders to take no action for now on the latest bid. Roche offered $89 a share in July, which Genentech rejected as too low, before dropping the price to $86.50 in January and taking a hostile offer directly to shareholders. Roche's raised bid is attracting shareholders who have been holding out for a better price.

Roche extended its offer until midnight March 20 from March 12, the company said in a statement. As of Thursday, 500,000 shares had been tendered at the $86.50 price, according to Humer. The company wants full control to ensure access to Genentech labs after their partnership ends in 2015 and to boost income from the US company's cancer drugs.

AUSTRIA

The ATX in Vienna also suffered badly on the day (and the week), down 1.87% Friday at 1,419.03.

Shares in Austrian high-technology machinery maker Andritz AG fell Friday, despite the company reporting a 3.9% rise in 2008 net profit, after it said it expects lower sales and profits in 2009.

DENMARK

The OMX Copenhagen 20 finished the week at 213.11, drops of 2.58% on Friday.

Denmark's AP M�ller-Maersk, owner of the world's largest container shipping line, has become the latest company to reveal the extent of the crisis facing the sector, saying volumes shipped in January were down 20% on a year earlier.

The container volume declines, together with falling oil prices and problems at Danske Bank, of which Maersk owns a fifth, prompted the company to warn that this year's profits would be significantly lower than in 2008. The charges Maersk was able to levy per container shipped no longer covered the variable costs of moving them on some routes, the company said.

The warning came as Maersk announced 2008 results and despite significant profitability improvements in the container shipping division, which mainly consists of Maersk Line, the industry leader. The division has been struggling since the botched integration of P&O Nedlloyd, then the world number three, in 2005.

Post-tax profits at the division rose to $205m from $106m on revenue up to $28.7bn from $25.8bn. Group net profits rose to $3.46bn on $61.2bn in sales, up from $3.42bn on $51.2bn of revenue the previous year.

Nils Andersen, chief executive, said the efforts Maersk had made to improve profitability - including redundancies and efficiency improvements - had paid off.

However, he went on: "Needless to say, with the rates and the market development we are facing at this point in time, it's very easy to predict that 2009 will be a very difficult year."

Maersk is also likely to see declining earnings at its oil and gas business, which operates rigs off Denmark, the UK, Qatar and elsewhere.

Profits also slumped at Danske Bank, Denmark's largest bank, in which Maersk holds 20%. Maersk's share of the profits fell to $39.3m, against $2.92bn in 2007. The group also wrote off $216m in goodwill on its stake.

Profits at the tankers, offshore and other shipping operations division also fell.

Mr Andersen, who last year said he planned significant disposals of businesses but has had little success executing them, said market conditions meant the company was likely to dispose of few assets this year.

"In the present market, it's not realistic to calculate on being able to sell at reasonable prices this year," he said.

The container shipping industry is suffering not only from falling demand for the goods - such as Chinese-manufactured toys - carried in its ships but also a significant over-supply of ships.

SWEDEN

The OMX Stockholm 30 was relatively flat, ending the day down just 0.25% at 607.45.

Swedish insurance firm Folksam is set to become the largest shareholder in banking group Swedbank, daily Svenska Dagbladet said on Friday.

The newspaper said that Folksam had demanded shares in Swedbank from Swedish savings bank foundations which the foundations put up as security for a loan.

The foundations are Swedbank's largest shareholder.

Shares in Swedbank have fallen around 90% over the last year.

The vice chairman of the savings bank foundations' fund management company, Ingvar Melin, said Folksam had not called in securities on the loan.

"I have been in contact with Folksam's finance chief who said that no security has been called in."

Scandinavian airline SAS said on Friday passenger traffic in February plunged 20.1% from a year earlier.

NORWAY

The OBX in Oslo also came in pretty flat Friday, dropping a mere 0.09% to end the week at 179.63.

StatoilHydro bounced 2.5% to NKr115.70.

S�dra and Norske Skog have been purchasing wood for their Norwegian mills through their jointly-owned company WoodLog (Wood and Logistics AS) since 2000, as S�dra informed Lesprom Network. The partnership commenced when S�dra acquired the Tofte and Folla pulp mills from Norske Skog.

S�dra owns 28% of the shares in WoodLog and Norske Skog owns 72%.

However, owners' wood requirements have changed in recent years with regard to issues such as imports, certification requirements and the need for different wood species. S�dra has therefore decided to leave the purchasing partnership and establish its own organisation for wood procurement in Norway.

Norske Skog will take over S�dra's shares in WoodLog on December 31, 2009. Existing contracts between WoodLog and wood suppliers will be fulfilled even after Norske Skog has taken over the company.

FINLAND

The OMX Helsinki declined 2.52% Friday, bring the week to a close at 4,110.31.

Finnish paper and packaging firm M-real Oyj warned of a deeper-than-expected first-quarter loss and dropped further result forecasts due to the grim global economy, sending its shares down 7%.

"Demand and delivery volumes have remained weaker than estimated and production curtailments have continued on a larger scale than earlier planned," the company said in a statement on Friday, adding it had written down pulp inventories.

The paper firm said its operating loss, minus one-offs, would be larger than the 51 million Euros ($64.5 million) loss it made in the fourth quarter. In December, it had forecast a smaller loss in its first quarter.

M-real said it would not give specific result estimates until further notice given the exceptionally challenging economy.

Its shares were down 7.1% to 0.26 Euro.

Helsinki-listed lift and escalators maker KONE has raised Eur22.41m in a equity increase, the company said on Friday.

KONE issued 89,640 new class B shares, which have all been subscribed to, and will start trading on the Helsinki bourse on 9 March.

The new shares qualify for dividend payments in the current financial year, KONE said.

KONE B shares were listed on the main list of the Helsinki stock exchange on 1 June 2005.

SPAIN

The Ibex in Madrird followed Regional trends, dropping 1.27% to end the week at 6,936.90.

Inditex SA, the Spanish owner of the Zara chain, slid the most in five years in Madrid trading after the retailer told analysts their sales and profit estimates are too high.

The retailer spoke with brokerages Thursday, according to two analysts who held discussions with the Arteixo, Spain-based retailer. They asked not to be identified, saying the conversations were informal and private. Spokesman Jesus Echevarria said Inditex wouldn't comment.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. removed Inditex from its list of "conviction buy" stocks Friday, saying the analysts' comments could be "concerning to the market." Spain's shrinking economy and rising unemployment has led retailers to step up discounts. El Corte Ingles, Spain's largest retailer, was advertising discounts of 50% on some fashions last week.

PORTUGAL

The PSI General in Lisbon chalked up one of the rare gains on Friday, up 0.9% at 1,941.19.

Galp Energia was up 0.8% to €8.47.

ITALY

Italy's benchmark S&P/MIB Index sank to a record low, led by bank stocks amid concern an economic slowdown at home and in eastern Europe will weigh on earnings.

The S&P/MIB fell 4.6% to 12,895 in Milan, having earlier declined as much as 5%, slipping below 13,000 for the first time. The measure dropped 16% this week, the most since October.

This year will be "more difficult" for the economy than 2008 because global growth will be affected by the credit crunch and bank failures, Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti said Thursday.

Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Italy's second-biggest bank by assets, dropped 7.4% to 1.45 Euros, after losing as much as 17%. "Considering the downward-spiraling economic outlook, we could accept the risk to the downside for earnings" at Intesa, Mediobanca Securities analysts wrote in a note. "However, we believe that Intesa does not need any capital increase." The shares slumped 9.1% to 1.43 Euros.

UniCredit SpA, the country's biggest, declined 11% to 72.35 cents.

UBS AG cut its price estimate for Unicredit to 96 cents from 1.85 Euros. The brokerage, which reiterated a "neutral" recommendation, cited "a tougher macro scenario" and wrote "capital concerns continue to weigh on the stock."

Unione di Banche Italiane SCPA fell 8% to 6.31 Euros. Italy's fourth-biggest bank by branches had its price projection lowered to 6.4 Euros from 9 Euros at Deutsche Bank AG. The brokerage kept a "sell" recommendation.

Credit defaults swaps that hedge against losses on Italian government bonds rose 4.5 basis points to a record 201, according to CMA Datavision.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it asked Italy's securities market watchdog Consob to investigate a rumor related to the stability of the country's finances.

The firm also disputes it's marketing a product which implies a negative view on the country's sovereign debt, JPMorgan said in an e-mailed statement Friday.

Assicurazioni Generali SpA declined 65 cents, or 5.9%, to 10.43 Euros, the lowest in more than 16 years. Italy's biggest insurer was downgraded to "neutral" from "add" at WestLB AG.

Azimut Holding SpA dropped 25.75 cents, or 7.1%, to 3.39 Euros, dropping for a second day. The fund manager said 2009 inflows totaled 44 million Euros, and net inflows into funds in February were 3 million Euros.

Banca Italease SpA dropped for the first time in three days, losing 9 cents, or 7%, to 1.19 Euros. Cheuvreux halved its price estimate on the Italian leasing company to 1 Euro.

Banco Popolare SC, Italease's main shareholder, dropped 19.75 cents, or 8.7%, to 2.08 Euros.

Lottomatica SpA added 85 cents, or 6.7%, to 13.52 Euros. The manager of Italy's national lottery said that it had a fourth-quarter 2008 net loss of 12.7 million Euros compared with net income of 15.9 million Euros during the same period a year earlier.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which has a "buy" recommendation on the stock, said 2008 results were "good." Deutsche Bank kept the same recommendation, noting results are coupled with an "encouraging outlook."

Mediaset SpA dropped 14.25 cents, or 4.2%, to 3.26 Euros, the lowest since the company went public in 1996. Exane initiated coverage of the broadcaster controlled by Berlusconi with an "underperform" recommendation and a price estimate of 2.7 Euros.

Bank of America Corp. added the stock to its "least preferred" stocks in the European media industry.

Pirelli & C. Real Estate retreated 17.25 cents, or 8.3%, to 1.9 Euros, a fourth day of losses this week. The company lost 195 million Euros last year compared with a net profit of 151 million Euros in 2007.

GREECE

In Athens the Athex gave up 0.48% to close the week at 1,474.35.

Japan's key stock index dropped more than 3% to a four-month closing low Friday after worries over the fate of money-losing General Motors Corp. and growing pessimism about the US economy dragged Wall Street sharply lower overnight.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index tumbled 260.39 points, or 3.5%, to 7,173.10, the lowest since it closed at 7,162.90 on October 27, 2008. The broader Topix index fell 2.7% to 721.39, the lowest since Dec. 24, 1983 when it finished at 715.68.

Taking a cue from Wall Street, investors dumped shares, and their sentiment was really downbeat throughout the day due to uncertainty over the fate of GM.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest automaker, fell 2.8% to 2,900 Yen. Honda Motor Co. lost 4.9% to 2,150 Yen. Nissan Motor Co. shed 1.2% to 326 Yen.

Sony Corp. was down 3.8% at 1,715 Yen, and Panasonic Corp. declined 2.4% to 1,091 Yen.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong shares ended another poor week with a loss of almost 2.4% Friday as bank shares fell heavily on fresh concerns over the financial sector's outlook.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index dipped below the 12,000-point barrier, losing 289.72 points to end the day at 11,921.52.

Turnover was 46.9 billion Hong Kong Dollars (6 billion US Dollars).

Friday's slide, which saw the index end the week almost 900 points down on its opening level from Monday, was led by banking stocks HSBC along with the Hang Seng Bank, Bank of China Hong Kong and the Bank of East Asia.

SOUTH KOREA

The Kospi traded in line with regional indices Friday, dropping 0.3% on the day.

Foreign investors sold a net 34.02 billion Won worth of shares and local institutions bought a net 97.7 billion Won worth on the main board. Retail investors sold a net 111.7 billion Won worth of shares.

Decliners led advancers by 458 to 354, with 72 titles ending unchanged.

A total of 455.1 million shares worth 3.39 trillion Won changed hands, compared with 503.75 million shares worth 4.44 trillion Won traded on Thursday.

The KOSPI 200 March futures index fell 2.20 points to 136.85 points and the KOSPI 200 spot index shed 0.42 points to 137.83.

The junior Kosdaq market gained 0.83% to end at 365.18 points.

Bukwang Pharmaceutical Co., surged 7.8% after receiving approval to sell a hepatitis drug.

CHINA

Chinese stocks fell back on Friday as short-term speculators took profits after the market surged over the previous two days on hopes for an early economic recovery.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which had rocketed 7.22% on Wednesday and Thursday, ended Friday down 1.26% at 2,193.007 points, after hitting a low of 2,171.668.

Turnover in Shanghai A shares shrank to 105.2 billion Yuan ($15.4 billion) from Thursday's 154.1 billion Yuan.

Financials and industrial metals, which led this week's rise, bore the brunt of profit-taking. Bank of China fell 2.19% to 3.58 Yuan after soaring 14.38% in the past two days, while Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) lost 2.80% to 9.39 Yuan after gaining 9.52%.

Much of this week's buying of stocks was short-term speculation fuelled by loose monetary policy and a government-directed surge in bank lending, analysts believe. That could leave the market vulnerable to a pull-back if economic data and news on government policies disappoint.

A senior economic planning official said on Friday that the government needed to wait and see before deciding if additional economic stimulus was needed. This contradicted hopes that China might announce an expansion of its 4 trillion Yuan stimulus plan during the annual parliament session ending next week.

But investors still expect the government to expand fiscal spending later if that seems necessary, and officials are continuing to sound cautiously optimistic about the economy. This appears likely to prevent any extended market downtrend.

TAIWAN

Taiwan stocks rose 0.35% on Friday, hitting a fresh two-month closing high, as technology shares such as TSMC and Chi Mei jumped on rising demand from China's subsidy programmes.

The main TAIEX share index ended up 16.43 points at 4,653.63, marking its strongest close since Jan. 7 and extending a 5% gain over the previous three sessions.

Shares of top contract chip maker TSMC jumped 4.08% and shares of LCD maker Chi Mei rose 4.98%.

However, major DRAM shares weakened after the Taiwan government announced it will set up a new chip company to consolidate the struggling sector.

THE PHILIPPINES

Philippine shares fell 0.2% on Friday as the market consolidated after a two-day rally, dealers said.

The composite index slipped 4.14 points to 1,920.16 points while the all shares index fell by 0.08% to 1,232.87 points.

There were 17 gainers, 65 losers and 31 unchanged.

Turnover amounted to 1.198 billion shares worth P3.744 billion ($76.8 million).

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) dropped 0.8% to 2,290 while Ayala Corp. fell 0.5% to 195.

San Miguel Corp. saw its A shares fall 1.11% to 44.50 while its B shares gained 1.12% to 45.

Power retailer Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) bucked the trend and continued its winning streak, ending up P14 or 12.5% at P126.

A group led by PLDT top honcho Manuel V. Pangilinan has been rumored to be accumulating shares in Meralco in preparation for a likely boardroom battle.

MALAYSIA

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended weaker in volatile trading Friday on heavy selling in big-capitalised stocks such as Maybank, Tenaga Nasional and TM International, dealers said.

The benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) fell 11.02 points to close at 858.22. It had opened 5.61 points lower at 863.63.

The KLCI moved between 857.22 and 864.20 throughout the trading session.

Dealers said Maybank was the big loser after it announced the price of its rights shares at RM2.74 each for its planned RM6 billion rights offering.

The issue price marked a 43% discount to its closing price of RM4.82 on Thursday.

Maybank shares fell 28 sen or 5.80% to RM4.54 Friday.

The dealers said investors were less excited about the timing and size of the issue.

Finance counters also led the losses on expectations of more capital-raising exercises by banks.

The speculation pressure on bank stocks saw Bumiputra-Commerce fall 15 sen to RM6.05, Public Bank which dropped 15 sen to RM8.00 while Hong Leong Bank slipped 10 sen to RM5.20.

The Finance Index also plunged 159.60 points to 6,492.06.

The Industrial Index meanwhile declined 12.51 points to 2,058.28, the Plantation Index lost 15.03 points to 4,354.91, FBMEmas fell 77.58 points to 5,598.44 and the FBM30 dipped 89.68 points to 5,498.64.

The FBMMesdaq went down 76.84 points to 3,034.65 while the FBM2BRD was 8.65 points lower at 3,943.62.

Losers thumped gainers by 359 to 120 while 203 counters were unchanged, 562 untraded and 32 others suspended.

Friday's turnover slipped to 282.249 million shares worth RM469.575 million from the 381.649 million shares valued at RM613.399 million recorded Thursday. -- MORE According to dealers, losses on regional bourses amid worries over the global financial sector, further weighed on Bursa.

They said, sentiment also remained weak, with most investors staying sidelined ahead of the long holiday next week and the tabling of the second stimulus package on March 10.

Bursa Malaysia would be closed on March 9 for the Maulidur Rasul public holiday.It will reopen on March 10.

At close of trading Friday, volume on the Main Board declined to 238.531 million shares worth RM461.926 million from 338.885 million shares valued at RM604.433 million Thursday.

Turnover on the Second Board fell to 17.454 million shares valued at RM4.223 million from 23.693 million shares worth RM6.282 million previously.

However, volume on the Mesdaq Market increased to 12.374 million shares worth RM2.245 million from 6.972 million shares valued at RM1.640 million Thursday.

Warrants rose to 12.447 million shares valued at RM757,511 from Thursday's close of 10.830 million shares worth RM697,390.

Among the volume leaders, Compugates and KNM Group were flat at 17.5 sen and 36.5 sen respectively while Resorts World lost six sen to RM2.01.

As for the blue chips, Sime Darby increased five sen to RM5.50 and IOI Corp eased two sen to RM3.72.

Tenaga Nasional dropped 15 sen to RM6.10 on concerns that the company's earnings would be affected by a reduction in electricity tariffs.

SINGAPORE

Singapore's benchmark index STI turned lower after a 1% rise on Wednesday, with the region's biggest bank, DBS, extending its fall for a fifth day, down 2.1%, and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp dropping 3%.

Investors in Singapore were more concerned about the local economy facing its worst recession ever, analysts said.

Financials in Singapore are actually reeling from two things. One is about the continuing domestic slowdown and, secondly, exposure to other Asian countries.

United Overseas Bank, the second biggest lender, fell 0.6% while, among China plays, Singapore-listed Chinese developer Yanlord Land dropped 6%. It jumped 17.1% on Wednesday on hopes for measures to support China's property market.

INDONESIA

Indonesia's main stock index edged 0.11% lower, with top listed plantation company PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk tumbling 6.7% and coal miner PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam Tbk falling 0.7%.

Stockholders of PT Apexindo Pratama Duta a drilling company under PT Mitra Rajasa approved the company's stocks removal from the Indonesian bourse, as the bourse authority found a significant revenue dependance of the parent company on its subsidary.

In a stockholders meeting on Thursday evening (5/3) stockholders approved a voluntary delisting as the bourse regulations bar two companies with significant revenue dependance to trade in the Indonesia Stock Exchange, and required one among the company to pull its shares from trade.

THAILAND

Thailand moved narrowly, ending up 0.58%, buoyed by dividend plays in banking stocks and buying of some battered energy firms.

State-run Krung Thai Bank, the country's second largest lender, was among gainers, rising nearly 2% to a one-week high, while number three Siam Commercial Bank edged up 1.8%.

Energy shares led losers, with PTT down 3.3%, ex-dividend, and Thai Oil off 2.9%. But banks outpaced the broader market, with Siam Commercial Bank rising 3.8% and Bangkok Bank adding 3.5%.

INDIA

Markets ended on a strong note. IT stocks which rose over 3% gained the most. Shares of Satyam Computer Services rose on reports of company receiving Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approval to facilitate a global competitive bidding process subject to receipt of all approvals, contemplates. Shares of the company rose over 19% to close at day`s high of Rs 42.10.

Major movers in the sectoral gainers included BSE Oil&Gas (1.76%), Capital Goods (1.54%), Power (1.34%) and Metal (1.32%). Meanwhile, BSE FMCG (1.73%), Realty (0.89%) and Auto were draggers in the 30-share index.

BSE Midcap and Smallcaps ends down 0.65% and 0.83% respectively.

Shares of Satyam Computer Services rose on reports of company receiving Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approval to facilitate a global competitive bidding process subject to receipt of all approvals, contemplates. Shares of the company rose over 19% to close at day`s high of Rs 42.10.

BSE Midcap and Smallcaps however closed on a negative note down by 0.65% and 0.83% respectively.

The Sensex ended the day with a gain of 127.90 points, or 1.56% at 8,325.82 after touching a high of 8,347.74 and a low of 8,047.17. The broad-based NSE Nifty gained 43.45 points, or 1.69% at 2,620.15 after hitting a high of 2,628.10 and a low of 2,539.45.

Biggest gainers in the 30-share index were Housing Development Finance Corporation (6.40%), Hindalco Industries (4.38%), Jaiprakash Associates (4.27%), Tata Consultancy Services (3.84%), Wipro (3.37%), and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (3.31%).

On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki India (2.77%), Hindustan Unilever (2.65%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (2.15%), ITC (1.61%), and DLF (1.12%) were the biggest losers in the Sensex.

Overall market breadth was negative. Out of the total 2,500 shares traded at BSE, 993 advanced, 1,419 declined while 88 remained unchanged.

AUSTRALIA

The Australian sharemarket has reversed Thursday's gains, slumping after falls in New York and Europe overnight.

The All Ordinaries index closed down 1.2% to 3,112 points and the ASX 200 lost 43 points to 3,146.

The Bank of Queensland is cutting about 150 jobs, or about 10% of its workforce, by the end of the month in response to the financial crisis.

Its shares closed 2% lower at $6.44.

BHP Billiton closed down 2.3% lower at $27.65.

Meanwhile, the corporate regulator ASIC has secured a proposed settlement over the Opes Prime collapse.

Under the proposal, the former stockbroker's lenders, ANZ and Merrill Lynch, would pool funds with Opes Prime's remaining cash and assets to deliver $253 million to investors.

ASIC says that represents 40 cents in the Dollar on the value of creditors' claims in March last year, when Opes went into administration.

ASIC has also agreed not to pursue two lawsuits against ANZ and Merrill Lynch if the proposal is approved by the courts and Opes creditors.

ANZ closed 2.3% lower at $12.36.

NEW ZEALAND

The New Zealand share market tumbled Friday, but avoided the carnage experienced on Wall Street.

As usual the movement in the New Zealand market was in the same direction but not as extreme.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed down 20.361 points, or 0.817%, at 2471.040, following gains of 22 points and 51 points in the previous two days.

Turnover was $70.48 million. There were 23 rises and 63 falls among the 122 stocks traded.

Rakon rose 12c to 97 and when queried by NZX had no material events to disclose.

Among leading stocks Telecom was down 7c to 239, Fletcher Building slipped 12c to 515, and Contact Energy rose 4c to 555.

Kiwi Income Property Trust was unchanged at 101 after announcing the sale of a building for $12 million to help reduce debt.

TrustPower fell 10c to 715. APN News fell 10c to 120.

Mainfreight lost 10c to 330 and Tourism Holdings was down 7c to 47. Sky City fell 7c to 256. ANZ rose 85c to 1700 and it announced a rise in underlying profit in in the depths of a downturn in New Zealand in the three months to December.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 5c to 338.