October 20, 2001	Saturday	Shaba'an 2, 1422

TOKYO, Oct 19: Asian stocks were mixed on Friday, with no fresh leads after a lower Wall Street amid a weak outlook for companies reporting and concerns about the US-Afghanistan conflict.

Tokyo’s ji+kei 225 average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 63.94 points to 10,538.79, but share prices in Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore all ended lower.

The Nikkei index barely moved in the morning session, but the key index climbed steadily in the afternoon as investors returned to hi-tech shares as they started to digest brighter signs in the sector, said Hidenori Kawasaki, head of equities at Kokusai Securities.

Nomura Securities investment information manager Muneyuki Ichihara said there was little fresh news to spur investor interest in Japan.

Share prices are moving very little today. There are no trading leads coming from Japan and investors are waiting for developments in the United States, he said.

Technology shares in New York were firm but their direction is uncertain due to the anthrax scare.

Century Securities senior strategist Morihiko Ida said the Nikkei 225 was likely to move in a 9,500-10,500 point range in the short term as the market did not expect the government to draw up a huge extra budget to boost the economy.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks fell 0.6 per cent as investors retreated to the sidelines ahead of the release of US inflation and trade data later Friday. The key Hang Seng index shed 54.77 points to close at 9,825.84 on thin turnover.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed 0.7 per cent lower with buying confined to stock-specific purchases such as Qantas Airways.

The All Ordinaries index fell 22.7 points to 3,111.4 while the SP/ASX 200 retreated 24.2 points to 3,175.4.

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed 1.3 per cent down in mixed trading ahead of the release of further US corporate results and concerns over the weak global economy.

The Straits Times Index slipped 17.97 points to 1388.77, breaching the 1,400-point support level.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian stocks closed nearly one per cent lower led by blue chips after a lacklustre session ahead of the 2002 budget announcement.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange’s composite index fell 0.9 per cent or 5.75 points to finish at 615.02.

A research manager from a local brokerage said investors were not enthusiastic over measures announced in the budget before the exchange closed. These included a 1.0-2.0 percentage point cut in personal income tax and an increase in taxes for cigarettes and tobacco.

MUMBAI: Share prices closed 1.2 per cent higher on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) led by renewed buying on the back of strong quarterly results by blue chip companies.

The benchmark 30-share BSE sensitive index closed up 35.15 points at 3,016.48.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 0.7 per cent higher as gains in PT Indonesia Satellite Corp and Astra Group stocks offset the impact of a large anti-US protest.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index ended up 2.689 points at 387.854.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand stocks closed down 0.6 per cent ahead of a long weekend.

The sale of 13 million Air New Zealand B shares was the highlight, with the NZSE40 capital index ending down 11.13 points at 1,890.54 on light turnover.—AFP