Tokyo - Key stock markets across Asia edged upwards on Friday, recovering slightly from record drops earlier this week, as investors cautiously ventured back into the market after a surge on Wall Street.

Indexes around the region see-sawed between small gains and losses, as investors reacted to mixed signals from Asia's economies.

Tokyo stocks climbed in early trading Friday after Wall Street's overnight surge.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 129.66 points, or 1.53 per cent, trading at 8,588.11. The broader Topix index gained 2.6 per cent to 887.43.

The recovery came after Japan's benchmark index plunged 11.41 per cent Thursday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was unsteady in early trading, down 4.9 points, or 0.03 per cent to 15,255.55 after earlier minuscule gains.

Investors in China were equally cautious, with the Shanghai Composite index which tracks shares traded in local and foreign currencies up 1.19 per cent to 1,932.6 in early trading. The Shenzhen Component index was up 0.8 per cent to 6,215.81.

The Taiex index in Taiwan fell 124.64 points, or 2.46 per cent, to 4,951.33.

South Korea's KOSPI index also tended downwards by 1.46 per cent to 1,197.08, a three-year-low, on concerns over bank funding, with financial stocks accounting for most of the decline.

Stocks in Singapore were among those recording modest gains, with the Straits Times index up 0.5 per cent to 1,960.99, after plunging more than 5 per cent the previous day.

In India, markets were wobbling shortly after opening, with Bombay's Sensex 30 index down 0.28 per cent to 10,551.95, dropping a modest 29.54 points. The broader 50-share Nifty index also drifted between gains an losses, trading up 0.18 per cent at 3,275.1.

Thai shares were up 1.25 per cent in mid-day trading, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index rose 6 points to 483.69, while in Indonesia, the Jakarta Composite index was down 2.62 per cent to 1,424.89.

Philippine shares lost ground before the weekend, dropping 24.11 points, or 1.14 per cent, to 2,098.26.

Australian stocks gave up early gains Friday, closed down 1.06 per cent after gaining 2.8 per cent on the bell. The ASX 200 index eventually gave up 42 points to 4,3970.

Macquarie Bank economist Lucinda Chan said the reality of a global downturn was weighing on stocks, particularly those backed by commodities.

The New Zealand stock market bounced back by 1.59 per cent as investors snapped up bargains after share prices fell by 5 per cent the previous day.

But it was a nervous recovery, with the benchmark NZX 50 index losing ground in the afternoon, ending the day 44 points up at 2808.76.

US stocks surged on Thursday after a steep dive a day earlier amid ongoing fears of a global recession. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 4.68 per cent in a late rally, partly on the back of falling oil prices.

The gains were spurred in part by news that inflation had held steady in September, making further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve more likely. (dpa)