HONG KONG, May 9 (AFP): Asian markets moved higher Friday as investors welcomed the results of the US Federal Reserve's bank "stress tests", which fuelled hopes the worst of the financial crisis may be over.

Japan added 0.50 per cent and Hong Kong one per cent while Sydney was flat, capping a week of steady gains.

Shanghai added 1.09 per cent and Seoul 0.79 per cent as early profit-taking was wiped out by confident traders hoping for a longer rally.

The Fed announced Thursday that 10 of the United States' 19 biggest banks would need to raise a total of US$74.6 billion for "capital buffers" in the event of a deeper economic slump.

However, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said the results "should provide considerable comfort to investors and the public".

Bangkok was closed Friday for a public holiday.

JAPAN: Up 0.50 per cent. The Nikkei-225 gained 47.13 points, or 0.50 per cent to 9,432.83, a six-month high.

Toyota Motor fell 1.50 per cent to to 3,980 yen.

Toshiba rose 1.40 per cent to 361 yen.

HONG KONG: Up 1.00 per cent. The Hang Seng Index closed up 171.98 points at 17,389.87.

China Construction Bank rose 5.20 per cent to $5.25 on reports China Investment Corp, Singapore's Temasek Holdings and Bank of China may scoop up part of Bank of America Corp's 16.7 per cent stake in the Chinese lender.

SYDNEY: Flat. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 lifted three points, or 0.08 per cent, to 3,941.7.

National Australia Bank added 2.98 per cent to 22.78 and Commonwealth lifted 1.83 per cent to 36.74 while Westpac advanced 1.43 per cent to 20.60.

SHANGHAI: Up 1.09 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was up 28.20 points at 2,625.65.

TAIPEI: Up 0.17 per cent. The weighted index rose 11.00 points to 6,583.87 on turnover of 197.93.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company fell 0.35 per cent to 56.30.

Tourism stocks attracted interest on more visits by Chinese tourists, dealers said.

First Hotel added 3.36 per cent to 29.20.

SEOUL: Up 0.79 per cent. The KOSPI gained 11.05 points to 1,412.13.

Dealers were boosted by easing uncertainty over the health of US financial institutions.

Korea Exchange Bank ended 6.4 per cent higher at 8,990 won.

SINGAPORE: Down 0.15 per cent. The main Straits Times Index fell 3.39 points to 2,238.21.

DBS Group Holdings, which announced Friday that net profit in the March quarter fell 28 per cent, closed 10 cents lower at 11.90 dollars.

Singapore Airlines tumbled 68 cents to 12.54 and Singapore Telecommunications eased two cents to 2.85.

KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.30 per cent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 3.31 points to close at 1,026.78.

Among advancing stocks, KNM rose 3.60 per cent to 73 sen, UEM Land jumped 19.2 per cent to 1.43 ringgit and Maybank rose 2.0 per cent to 5.10 ringgit.

JAKARTA: Up 1.80 per cent. The Jakarta Composite Index firmed 33.68 points to 1,862.53.

The index was helped higher by buying in palm oil and auto-related stocks as regional markets posted gains, dealers said.

MANILA: Up 0.14 per cent. The composite index rose 3.06 points to 2,241.98.

Investors bought undervalued stocks anticipating a strong rally in the near future, dealers said.

WELLINGTON: Up 0.64 per cent. The benchmark NZX-50 index gained 18.26 points to 2,873.14.

The index turned in a late rally after profit-takers had the market in negative territory for most of the session, dealers said.

Telecom eased 10 cents to $2.72 after reporting a 14 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit to $159 million.





Fletcher Building was up 18 cents to 7.02 dollars and Contact Energy improved 13 cents to 6.23.