Oil prices extended losses today with Brent hitting an 11-year low, fuelling fears about the global economy, but most Asian stock markets recovered from early losses to rally in the afternoon.
However, with Wednesday's US Federal Reserve interest rate rise now in the past, analysts said concerns about the global economy continue to keep traders cautious.
While markets will begin winding down for the Christmas break Friday there are some key economic figures due for release this week, including US economic growth and home sales as well as Japanese inflation and spending.
Crude continued to slide as an ongoing supply glut showed no sign of easing. Figures Friday showed a rise in the number of US rigs drilling, increasing worries that output will continue apace.
Brent sank 2.1 per cent at one point to USD 36.09 a barrel - its weakest since July 2004 - and US standard West Texas Intermediate was down 1.2 per cent at USD 34.32, levels not seen since early 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis.
Prices have slumped by almost a fifth since December 4 when the OPEC oil producers' group decided against limiting production, despite tepid demand and the supply glut.
The commodity has sunk more than 60 per cent from above USD 100 in summer 2014 and prices are now at levels not seen since the financial crisis.
"There hasn't been any significant signs of a pick-up in demand and we haven't seen any meaningful cuts to production," Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.
"Nothing has really changed in the oil market over the past couple of months apart from the price."
On currency markets the greenback edged up to 121.40 yen today - also bouncing from early selling - but remains well below last week's high above 123 yen touched after the US rate rise. The dollar was slightly up against the euro.
In Tokyo scandal-hit conglomerate Toshiba lost almost 10 percent following a weekend report in the leading Nikkei business daily that it would likely record a fiscal year net loss of about USD 4 billion.
In a statement after the markets closed today, Toshiba said it would post a record 550 billion yen (USD 4.5 billion) annual loss.
The 140-year-old company was this year hit by revelations that executives systematically pressured underlings to inflate profits in a years-long scheme to hide poor results.
Japan's Nikkei stock index ended 0.4 per cent lower but pared most of its early losses after falling 1.8 per cent at one point, with a pick-up in the dollar against the yen providing some respite for exporters.
Most other regional markets ended in positive territory after falling into the red in the morning. Sydney closed up 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong gained 0.2 per cent and Seoul ended 0.3 per cent higher.
