Asian stocks rebound from heavy losses

Asian markets saw a mild bounce on Thursday after suffering heavy selling pressure this week, but traders remained on edge ahead of a possible military strike on Syria.
The dollar also benefited as fears eased over the impact of an attack on the Middle Eastern country, which is accused of using chemical weapons on its own people.
Tokyo rose 0.91 per cent, or 121.25 points, to 13,459.71, while Sydney added 0.10 per cent, or 5.2 points, to close at 5,092.4 and Seoul advanced 1.22 per cent, or 23.02 points, to 1,907.54.
Hong Kong climbed 0.84 per cent, or 180.13 points to 21,704.78, but Shanghai fell 0.19 per cent, or 4.07 points, to 2,097.23.

Buying sentiment was given a boost by a rally on Wall Street, which ended three days of losses, as energy companies benefited from a surge in oil prices.
The Dow rose 0.34 per cent, the S&P 500 climbed 0.29 per cent and the Nasdaq added 0.41 per cent.

US President Barack Obama, who had warned the use of chemical weapons by Syria would cross a "red line", said Washington had definitively concluded that the Assad regime was to blame for last week's attack that killed hundreds of people.
However, he said Wednesday he had not yet decided whether to strike.

His comments, which were more cautious than recent statements, come as political uproar in London cast doubt on whether Britain would join any such action.