Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd

US markets closed flat overnight after a report of private-sector job losses and Federal Reserve minutes showing concern about weakness in the labour market. Asian stocks ended mostly higher Wednesday as investors were still in an upbeat mood, but China's Shanghai Composite index was 0.9 per cent lower due to worries over inflation and a possible fund raising by Bank of China.

Wall Street broke the four-day run of gains overnight as a higher-than-expected US Producer Price Index in November raised concerns on inflation. Asian markets ended mixed Tuesday. China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell after China's State Council said it plans to cool the rapidly rising residential property prices in some cities.

Most Asian markets delivered modest gains on Thursday as positive US economic data restored confidence in a global economic recovery.

Asian stock markets mostly jumped on Monday. Financial stocks were rebounding in Australia, Korea and Japan on hopes the extent of the impact of the Dubai crisis would be limited. The United Arab Emirates central bank said Sunday it "stands behind" local lenders.

Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday with a flat lead from Wall Street. Tokyo stocks rebounded on upbeat trade figures and bargain hunting after the market opened lower in the morning. Hong Kong and Seoul share declined as investors the U.S. economy did not grow as quickly as previously forecast in the latest quarter.

Asian share markets broadly opened in positive territory. Japan's Nikkei was buoyed by the latest data showing that Japan's economy grew 1.2 per cent in July-September from the previous quarter, exceeding market expectations.

Japanese PC memory maker Elpida Memory Inc (TYO:6665) said its production subsidiary, Taiwan firm Rexchip Electronics Corp, turned profitable in July-September on rising prices of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM). Rexchip is expected to report a net profit of almost 1 billion yen for the quarter, the first time to make operating net profits in five quarters.

Hyosung Group (SEO:004800) has made an offer to buy a 28 percent stake in Hynix Semiconductors (SEO:000660), the world's No. 2 memory chip maker after Samsung Electronics (SEO:005930).

Korea's Samsung Electronics (SEO:005930) was forecast to account for more than 20 percent of the global handset market for the first time, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics.

Japan's Elpida Memory Inc (TYO:6665) said that it plans to more than double its output of advanced DRAM chips for high-speed computers and servers next month, pushing its shares higher on Monday.