MARKET jitters were calmed across Asia on Friday as investors pinned their hopes on news that embattled Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers has put itself up for sale in a bid to stay afloat.

But most regional bourses managed only a weak rebound, indicating that investors are far from convinced that the worst of the financial crisis is over.

'Those who pin their hopes on stock markets roaring back with a resolution of Lehman's problems may be disappointed. We have experienced many such relief rallies before,' said remisier Thomas Lee.

Lehman, a 157-year-old investment banking giant, this week suffered a massive share price plunge and huge losses amid slumping market confidence.

In response, the bank, the latest victim of the credit crunch sparked by the US subprime mortgage crisis, is seeking a buyer to keep its head above water.

Buoyed by this, regional banks led the way to modest gains after the beating they had suffered this week from the sell-off caused by the latest convulsions of US financial stocks.

In Singapore, gainers included OCBC Bank which rose six cents to $7.69 and United Overseas Bank, up 14 cents to $18.56. This helped the Straits Times Index to end 29.52 points higher at 2,570.67 - its first advance in four days.

Since January, both banks have been a bedrock of support for STI, easily outperforming other component stocks.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.