Upbeat earnings, energy shares boost markets

HONG KONG, Oct 26 (Reuters) Asian stock markets rose on Friday, led by companies with strong profits such as Sony Corp, while record high oil prices fuelled demand for energy names including oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum.

Oil hit a record high over on tight inventories and fresh signs OPEC will shrug off calls for additional oil. U.S.

crude , touched a peak of .10 a barrel in early electronic trade on Friday.

At 0023 GMT, Tokyo's Nikkei average <.n225> had climbed 0.6 percent, while MSCI's measure of other Asia Pacific stocks <.miapj0000pus> added 0.3 percent.

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI <.ks11> rose 0.5 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index <.axjo> put on 0.6 percent.

The MSCI index was within easy reach of a record high set on Oct. 11, helped further by hopes of an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which meets next week to discuss monetary policy.

''The Fed will have to cut rates to tackle a slowing U.S.

economy, but oil prices surged again overnight, making matters complicated,'' said Rho Y.S., a market strategist at Hyundai Securities.

Investors snapped up Sony Corp , sending the stock up 6.5 percent, a day after the firm swung to a quarterly operating profit, while Hyundai Motor extended gains, advancing 3.8 percent after it reported better-than-expected results on Thursday. [ID:nT97685] and [ID:nSEO5841] Macquarie Bank was also in demand, rising 1.3 percent after shareholders approved a plan to restructure the investment bank through the formation of a non-operating holding company.

The move will allow the group's fast expanding non-banking businesses to maintain growth without prohibitive capital constrains they are governed by now. [ID:nSYD252019] Energy stocks gained ground as investors bet that record high oil prices will boost their earnings. Japan's INPEX Holdings put on 2.4 percent and Woodside Petroleum advanced 1.3 percent.

On Wall Street, blue chip stocks <.dji> clawed off the session's trough to end little changed, but disappointing results from cable TV operator Comcast and software maker Symantec helped knock the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> down 0.9 percent.

HEADLINES: >Earnings, write-downs hit Wall St; Microsoft up late [.N] >Microsoft lifts profit outlook, shares rise 11 pct[nN24365747] >Oil hits record over , OPEC cold to new hike [nSP247109] >US new home sales weak; durable goods orders sag [nN25225853] >Singapore's DBS Q3 net up 11 pct despite credit woe[nSP112799] >Chartered quarterly profit rises on tax benefit [nN25209659] >Nintendo raises full-year forecast, Wii boosts H1 [nT125740] >Baidu.com quarterly profit more than doubles [nN25238040] >NZ's Sky City backs forecast, halts casino sale [nWEL306952] >Motorola profit, outlook beat estimates, shares up[nN25446419] >ICBC to buy 20 pct of Standard Bank for .6 bln [nSHA110750] >Dollar near lifetime low versus euro, rate cut eye[nN25337800] >ADRs edge up as telecom results offset financials [ADR/] -- KEY INDEXES pct change Bank of New York Asia ADR index <.bkas> +0.22 Dow Jones Industrial Average <.dji> -0.02 Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> -0.89 MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan <.miapj0000pus> +1.45 Nikkei futures in Chicago 16,395 Nikkei futures in Osaka 16,280 -- ASIAN ADR ACTION: 5 most actively traded: price change/pct TSMC +0.10 Siliconware +1.05 UMC +2.70 Infosys Tech +0.29 BHP Billiton +1.29 -- Top 5 performers: price change/pct Sony Corp +5.94 Konami Corp +5.53 Rio Tinto +3.19 Videsh Sanchar +3.14 Lihir Gold +2.76 -- Bottom 5 performers: price change/pct APT Satellite -5.75 Satyam -4.15 Santos -4.13 Orix -4.00 Chalco -3.49 -- TOP ASIA EVENTS: For more Asian company earnings, see [ASIA/EQTY] JAPAN - Earnings: Daiwa Securities , Nissan Motor - Sept nationwide CPI; Oct Tokyo area CPI - Industrial production for Sept S.KOREA - Earnings: Kia Motors , KT Corp HONG KONG - Earnings: Yanzhou Coal Mining , China Unicom , Anhui Conch Cement TAIWAN - Earnings: Acer - Sept leading indicators data S.E ASIA - Singapore Q3 property price/Sept manufacturing - Philippine Q3 inflation report INDIA - Earnings: Tata Steel , Larsen&Toubro - State Bank of India quarterly results due on Saturday -- REUTERS SZ VP0637