Asian Markets Mostly Higher but Syria War Fears Cap Gains

Most Asian markets opened higher following upbeat cues from Wall Street and were supported by energy stocks that logged gains across the region after US benchmark crude oil prices hit $110 a barrel overnight.

However, fears of a looming US-led attack on Syria capped gains.

The Japanese Nikkei finished 0.91% higher or 121.25 points at 13, 459.71.

Australia's S&P/ASX finished 0.10% higher or 5.20 points to 5,092.40.

South Korea's Kospi finished 1.22% higher or 23.02 points to 1,907.54.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was trading 0.43% higher or 93.59 points to 21,618.24.

The Shanghai Composite was trading 0.24% lower or 5.09 points to 2,096.21.

Oil prices were boosted by the prospect of supply disruptions in the Middle East as the US and its allies prepare for potential air strikes against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime.

US president Barack Obama said that a "tailored, limited" military strike against Syria was enough to send a strong message to Assad and would discourage his regime from using chemical weapons again.

"It has been a fairly quiet session in Asian trade, as investors remain on headline watch despite a somewhat calmer situation on the Syria front. Some reports downgraded the threat of a strike from imminent to measured and this relieved equities from some of the pressure they've been under since the Syria threat escalated," said Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG in a client note.

Wall Street Up

On Wall Street, indices ended higher, boosted by energy stocks.

The Dow finished 48.38 points higher at 14,824.51. The S&P 500 ended 4.48 points higher at 1,634.96 while the Nasdaq closed 14.83 points higher at 3,593.35.

Company Stock Movements

In Tokyo, oil and gas explorer Inpex shot up 5.3% while rival Japan Petroleum Exploration added 4.4%

Transportation major Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha ('K' Line) rose 2.8%, while chemical engineering firm Showa Denko K.K. gained 1.6%.

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) fell 6% after Japan's nuclear watchdog raised the severity level for the latest radioactive leak at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Consumer electronics major Panasonic lost 2.2% on news that the firm plans to stop producing consumer smartphones.

In Hong Kong, Kunlun Energy rose 2.6%, energy major PetroChina moved up 1.9% and Cnooc added 1.2%.

China Minsheng Banking rose 3.1% after it reported a 20% increase in its earnings for the first-half ended 30 June.

Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) climbed 2.4% after it reported a 15% increase in its first-half profits.

Insurance major China Life Insurance inched up 0.7% after it reported a 68% surge in net income for the first half.

In Shanghai, Agricultural Bank of China added 0.4%, China Minsheng inched up 0.3% while and China Life added 0.4%, respectively.

In Sydney, Qantas Airways shot up 9.1% after the airline swung back into the black. The firm reported a full-year net profit of $6m, after logging a record loss of $244m previously.

Oil Search moved up 1.1%. Gold miner Kingsgate Consolidated tanked 20.4% after it reported an annual net loss of A$323.7m ($289.5m). The company did not declare a final dividend.

Shopping mall operator Westfield Group was down 1.2% after it reported a 36% drop in first-half profits.

In Seoul, the country's biggest chemicals maker LG Chemical moved up 2%.

S-oil, SK Innovation andLotte Chemical added 1% each.

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