Asian Shares Rise

Asian stocks were higher Thursday, as improved mood is kept safe haven assets like the yen and gold on the defensive, while the resignation of the chief sign of Apple CEO Steve Jobs had a mixed impact on regional shares of technology companies.

"Three days in advance in U.S. stocks prompted bargain-hunting and short covering, but in general the mood is still inclined to pessimism and trade will likely continue to be volatile going next week," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, director of investment strategy and research at Daiwa Securities in Japan.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.3%, Australia's S & P / ASX 200 added 1.0%, South Korea Kospi Composite tacked on 0.9%, the Shanghai Composite index rose by 1.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.6%, while the Sensex in India was flat.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 23 points on the screen trade.

Haven assets struggled to regain ground lost on Wednesday as investors began to seriously doubt whether the Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke may secure additional mitigation measures flag in his Jackson Hole speech on Friday.

"If I'm right, and markets do not get their next hit from the Fed, get ready for some naughty behavior. It seems that many shorts have covered and extremely safe trade unwinds a recess in the form of gold to trace the $ 1,750, but now the markets have set themselves up for disappointment "said Bell Potter Managing Director Charlie Aitken in Sydney.

Spot gold added $ 3.50 to $ 1,754.80 an ounce after a big sale on Wednesday, and sharply lower than the record $ 1,912.29 knocked just two days ago.

Vault yen was also unable to compensate for the loss on Wednesday against the U.S. dollar at ¥ 76,95 from 76.97 yen late Wednesday in New York, and ahead of ¥ 76,20 levels of trading in Asia at the beginning of the week. The euro was ¥ 110,87 Yen samples from 110.94 and $ 1.4405 against the dollar at $ 1.4415.

Exporters and automakers in Japan gained momentum from the weaker yen, with Sony adding 1,9%, Toyota Motor climbing 1.3%. It also provided some support for Apple's reliance shares in Tokyo, although there was a sale of the rest of the region.

Softbank, only Apple, distributor in Japan, grew by 0.7% and part-suppliers Sharp and Ibiden added 1.9% and 1.7% respectively.

Among the suppliers of Apple, in Taiwan, Hon Hai Precision shed 1.2% and 4.0% fell Lurgan, but rival HTC has acquired 3.8%. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics rose 3.1% on the leadership hopes to rival Apple, will suffer.

In Australia and Hong Kong, earnings-related news helped boost the relevant markets. Toll Holdings rose 9.0%, while BHP Billiton added 1.1% in Sydney after the resource is located giant strong fiscal year earnings on Wednesday. In Hong Kong, China Unicom has increased by 13.4% and BOC (Hong Kong) rose 6.6% in both companies posted strong first half results.