Sydney - Australian shares l

Washington - US stocks edged higher on Friday thanks to gains in the financial sector, upstaging a rise in monthly unemployment and a record rate of home foreclosures.

Shares of investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc improved nearly 7 per cent on reports it may sell some of its assets in order to raise capital. Financial shares improved overall amid speculation the Federal Reserve would hold off raising rates at its next meeting.

Washington  - US stocks edged higher on Friday thanks to gains in the financial sector, upstaging a rise in monthly unemployment and a record rate of home foreclosures.

Shares of investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc improved nearly 7 per cent on reports it may sell some of its assets in order to raise capital. Financial shares improved overall amid speculation the Federal Reserve would hold off raising rates at its next meeting.

Amman - Leading Arab stock exchanges declined this week because of what financial analysts on Friday attributed to the advent of the fasting month of Ramadan and a shrinking volume of liquidity.

"We believe investors' decisions have been affected by the start of Ramadan when business retreats to a low ebb," an Amman-based portfolio manager told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"However, we also believe the low prices of stocks will trigger a wave of buying in the coming two weeks that will reverse the downward trend," he said.

Beijing - China's two stock markets on Friday lost about 3 per cent of their value, following an overnight fall on Wall Street.

The key Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks shares traded in foreign and local currencies, dropped 3.29 per cent, losing 74.96 points to end the week at 2,202.45.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index also lost 3.74 per cent of its value to close at 608.18, down 23.62 points.

Hong Kon