Asia Has Mixed Session

Asian markets ended mixed Friday, as investors mulled which pockets of the region would benefit from this week's rate cuts and suffer from the widening havoc brought by snowstorms in China.

The Hang Seng jumped 668 points, or 2.9%, to 24,124 as investors took Wall Street's overnight lead as an opportunity to buy the previously heavy-hit telcos and financials. The Nikkei finished down 95 points, or 0.7%, at 13,497, and in China, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 63 points, or 1.4%, to 4320.

"The problem is, the [Federal Reserve] has made credit cheaper, but at the same time we know that problems related to subprime are not over yet," says Serdar Kucukakin, an emerging Asia economist for ABN Amro in Holland. "Asian countries are OK economically, but they will get hit hard if there's a full-blown U.S. recession."

In Hong Kong, China Telecom(CHA Quote) leaped 6.4% to HK$5.82, and China Netcom(CN Quote) rose 6.1% to HK$25.25. China Unicom(CHU Quote) added 5.7% to HK$19, while market leader China Mobile(CHL Quote) rallied 2.9% to HK$117.60. ...