The story

Asian and Pacific stocks held onto modest gains Friday, following Wall Street's 552-point bounce after three days of declines.

Japan's Nikkei index was up 4 percent in afternoon trading, and Australia's All Ordinaries index rose 2 percent. In Seoul, the KOSPI index had a smaller jump, at 0.6 percent. The Shanghai composite index was up 1.2 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 3.4 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung wildly at times on Thursday. It fell to within 81 points of its 5-1/2-year low. Between the low and the close, the Dow's swing was 870 points -- it was 911 points between the day's high and the day's low. Read full article »

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