Asian markets mostly up at end of a painful quarter

Asian markets mostly rose Friday, bringing an end to a tumultuous quarter that has seen sharp losses around the world, with China-US trade tensions showing no sign of calming.

Trading floors have witnessed heavy selling in April-June as the two biggest economies exchanged threats of tariffs -- and in some cases imposed them -- on billions of dollars of imports, fueling fears for global growth.

An increasing source of concern for many investors is China, where the main stock market is in bear territory after losing more than 20 percent from a recent peak and the yuan continues to struggle.

Many analysts warn any trade war with the US would likely hurt Beijing more, with growth in the Asian giant already showing signs of slowing this quarter and authorities looking to provide support.

That comes just as the US perks up with the Federal Reserve expected to press ahead with interest rate hikes this year and next, and expansion likely to impress further.

The ongoing US strength "implies that the Fed will keep hiking rates because it will need to", said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader.

"It implies that bonds will continue to have an upward bias, it implies that earnings for US companies should do OK, and it implies that the US will stand out as an investment destination as the de-synchronization of global growth sees other blocs and nations lag behind."

With investors uncertain about the next moves by Donald Trump, markets fluctuated in early trade despite a positive lead from Wall Street, but most were in positive territory in later trade.

Tokyo ended 0.2 percent higher, with electronics giant Sharp soaring more than 15 percent after saying it would cancel a plan to raise some $1.8 billion through a public offering, citing the China-US trade frictions.

APP