HONG KONG — Asian shares were mixed on Friday while oil surged amid rising tensions in Egypt after President Hosni Mubarak enraged protesters by saying he would not step down.
Seoul dived 1.56 percent, or 31.31 points, to 1,977.19 and Singapore dropped 0.35 percent.
Sydney ended 0.68 percent, or 33.5 points, lower at 4,880.9 and Taipei tumbled 2.57 percent, or 226.70 points, to 8,609.86.
But Shanghai closed 0.33 percent, or 9.17 points, higher at 2,827.33 and Hong Kong broke a four-day losing streak to end up 0.53 percent, or 120.30 points, at 22,828.92.
Tokyo's Nikkei was closed for a public holiday.
Global markets are keeping an eye on events in Egypt amid concerns the violence could spill over to the rest of the already volatile Middle East.
The crisis in Egypt took a fresh turn on Thursday when Mubarak called a news conference amid speculation he was about to resign, lifting hopes of an end to protests that have gripped the country for three weeks.
However, he said in the televised announcement that he would not leave office until after September elections, instead delegating some powers to his vice president and enraging demonstrators.
More than 200,000 protesters massed in central Tahrir Square, vowing to stage their most spectacular demonstration yet on Friday, sparking fears of violence in Cairo.
"The market is left with a risk aversion scenario," HiFX senior trader Stuart Ive in Auckland told Dow Jones Newswires.
"He hasn't left (the presidency) and there is a clear threat from the people in the street who want him gone now. It leaves a lot of questions."
Oil prices, which had eased slightly at the start of the week on hopes the protests were subsiding, jumped back on Friday.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March gained 47 cents to $101.34 on the contract's last trading day.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, soared 42 cents to $87.15 per barrel.
While Egypt is not a major crude producer, traders fears a conflict in Egypt could disrupt supplies passing through the Suez Canal, which carries about 2.4 million barrels of oil daily, roughly equal to the output of Iraq or Brazil.
The Shanghai index gained on Friday and Thursday as traders had already factored in a rate hike -- the third on the mainland in four months -- announced by Beijing on Tuesday.
On Wall Street the Dow eased 0.09 percent Thursday, snapping an eight-session rally.
In Asian forex trade the dollar rose to 83.53 yen from 83.20 yen in late Thursday New York trade, while it also picked up against the euro, with the single currency fetching $1.3551 in Tokyo, from $1.3601.
The euro fetched 113.21 yen, compared with 113.18 late Thursday.
And in Vietnam the central bank devalued the dong for the fourth time in 15 months, reducing it by 9.3 percent against the greenback in a bid to keep a lid on accelerating inflation, which stood at more than 12 percent last month.
Gold ended at $1,363.30-$1,364.30 an ounce in Hong Kong on Friday, up from Thursday's close of $1,360.50-$1,361.50.
In other markets:
-- Manila closed 0.29 percent, or 10.84 points, higher at 3,749.15.
Alliance Global rose 0.34 percent to 11.72 pesos while SM Investments was up 0.41 percent at 443.80 pesos.
Aboitiz Equity Ventures surged 11.11 percent to 37 pesos.
-- Wellington was flat, gaining 1.57 points to end at 3,367.44.
Telecom fell 1.4 percent to NZ$2.16 and Steel & Tube was 2.1 percent higher at NZ$2.44.
