World markets mixed after Wall Street rebound

ebounded strongly overnight, with Japanese shares recovering from a historic fall in the previous session.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average advanced 235.27 points, or 2.78 percent, at 8,693.82. The index was still far from recouping Thursday's 11.4 percent loss _ its biggest one-day percentage drop since the stock market crash of October 1987.
For the week, the Nikkei gained 5 percent, much better than the 24 percent it lost last week.
Compared to the gyrations earlier this week, Asian markets were moderately more stable.
Shanghai's index rose for the first time in a week. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped over 4 percent to 14,554.21, its lowest level in almost three years as selling accelerated late in the day after banks said they would help investors in Lehman Brothers-backed bonds recouped some of their money. Australia, Singapore and South Korea also closed lower.
European stocks fared better in early trading as Britain, German and French indices gained more than 2 percent. Russian stocks lost ground.
Friday's mixed session closed out an extremely volatile week that began with a two-day rally. Then, on Thursday, global stock markets plunged as weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data and a downbeat assessment from the U.S. Federal Reserve showed the world's largest economy, so critical to Asia's export countries, was heading into a recession.
'Within Asia, people are getting worried about a recession,' said Daniel McCormack, a strategist for Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong. 'Today people are trying to work out which sector, which stocks, which companies are going to get hit and starting to position themselves accordingly.'
Overnight in New York, a late wave of buying lifted the Dow Jones industrials 4.7 percent, or 400 points, to 8,979.26 in a yet another volatile session that saw the benchmark swing more than 800 points.
The Dow remains up 528 points, or 6.3 percent, for the week.
Governments across Asia remained focused on the financial crisis. Late Thursday, Malaysia said it would guarantee all bank deposits for the next two years, following similar moves by Hong Kong and Singapore amid fears about the health of banks.
In Australia, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gave a reassurances that the country would pull through the crisis 'in good shape. He said he would soon present a proposal in response to the crisis that would include a review of executive pay at financial institutions.
With crisis and recession talk still weighing heavily, Japan investors bought targeted sectors such as utilities and telecommunications, whose earnings are considered somewhat insulated from global downturns. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. soared 9.82 percent and Tokyo Gas Co. jumped 5.85 percent.
'Investors are seeing stocks undervalued now, but they're still scared of the downside,' said Tomochika Kitaoka, strategist with Mizuho Securities in Tokyo. 'So they are buying into relatively safe stocks.'
In Hong Hong, banks were hit with a late-day bout of selling after the territory's banking association agreed to help repay investors in Lehman-backed bonds whose values have been in doubt since the Wall Street firm collapsed last month.
Top China lender ICBC lost 5.3 percent, while China Construction Bank tanked more than 9 percent.
Mainland Chinese shares rebounded, though, helped by a surge in brokerages amid reports they soon may be allowed to test-trial margin trading.
Oil prices rose. Light, sweet crude for November delivery was $1.43 higher a $71.28 a barrel in Asian trade. Oil prices are now half of their peak price in July.
In currencies, the dollar declined slightly to 101.23 yen Friday from 101.30 yen late Thursday. The euro stood at $1.3457 from $1.3492.
In signs the credit markets were loosening, the Hong Kong interbank offered rate, known as Hibor, for three-month loans declined to 4.19 from 4.35 percent.
U.S. stock futures were down more than 2 percent, suggesting Wall Street would decline when it opened.