Asian shares were mixed Tuesday, with some markets lifted off their lows as news of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's capital infusion into Citigroup eased some concerns about the U.S. credit crunch, according to AP. Other markets couldn't shake negative sentiment from Wall Street's overnight drop and worries about the broader U.S. economy Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 average gained 0.6 percent to 15,222.9 points in volatile trading. It dropped as much as 2.2 percent during morning trade before jumping to positive territory in early afternoon. Traders said the news that Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will invest US$7.5 billion (¤5.1 billion) in the largest U.S. bank was welcomed _ but could turn out to be just a temporary shot in the arm for the market. «The capital injection may benefit (the market) by possibly keeping subprime loan-related news out of other places from causing big selling in New York financial sector shares ... for now,» said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. Investors will be watching for news from the U.S. holiday shopping season for further indications of the strength of the U.S. economy _ and demand for Japanese exports. A spike in the dollar against the yen helped exporter issues, including some car and electronics makers, but profit-taking trimmed gains by market close. A stronger dollar helps to make Japanese goods more affordable to U.S. consumers Gainers included banks, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., which rose 3.9 percent. Brokerages also climbed, with Nomura Holdings Inc. edging up 1 percent. Nikko Cordial Corp., a unit of Citigroup, shed 0.6 percent. Citigroup shares traded on the Tokyo bourse ended down 4.2 percent. Hong Kong shares, meanwhile, were dragged down by concerns over banking giant HSBC's exposure to the U.S. subprime crisis. Bargain-hunting help to pare losses in afternoon trading, though, as investors bought stocks that have fallen sharply in recent weeks. The blue chip Hang Seng Index fell 1.5 percent to 27,210.2. «Concerns in the U.S. weighed on the markets early in the session, but since much of the negative market news has already been reflected in share prices, there was revived buying interest,» said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KGI Asia Ltd. Another drop in U.S. stocks Monday did little to boost confidence. The Dow Jones Industrials Index fell 1.8 percent to 12,743 points as continuing woes in the financial sector offset early positive signs in the retail market. In Hong Kong, banking heavyweight HSBC fell 2 percent after it said it will provide up to US$35 billion (¤23.6 billion) in funding to bail out two funds whose assets it is transferring to its balance sheet to prevent their liquidation. Other banking stocks followed HSBC. Hang Seng Bank fell 2.1 percent and Bank of East Asia lost 1.5 percent.
