October 26, 2001	Friday	Shaba'an 8, 1422

TOKYO, Oct 25: Asian share markets were mixed on Thursday, with modest gains on some major bourses capped by concerns over earnings by leading firms.

Stocks in Tokyo, Sydney and Taipei rose no more than one percent while Singapore and Kuala Lumpur fell less than one percent in trading some dealers described as directionless. Hong Kong was closed for a public holiday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed 0.7 per cent firmer at 10,880.10 fuelled by an advance on Wall Street but pegged back by concerns over the earnings of local hi-techs.

The United States’ technology-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 1.5 per cent to 1,731.54 and the Dow Jones industrials rose just 0.1 per cent to 9,345.62 on Wednesday.

Investors are beginning to sell shares to lock in profits as the release of interm earnings reports in Japan is going into full swing, said Mizuho Investors Securities senior strategist Masatoshi Sato.

On the other hand, some funds are shifting toward laggards. The market as a whole remains firm but is top heavy, he said.

Many hi-tech shares, particularly telecommunications and semiconductor isses, gained ground in the morning, lifting the headline Nikkei index briefly above the symbolic 11,000-point level.

Daiwa SMBC equity manager Kazunori Jinnai said investors also bought export-linked issues on the back of a lower yen.

But buying sentiment petered out towards midday as investors anticipated poor financial results from electronics giant Sony Corp., brokers said.

SYDNEY: The Australian share market closed 0.2 per cent higher, lifted modestly by positive sentiment towards banking stocks.

The All Ordinaries index rose 7.0 points to 3,189.1 while the SP/ASX 200 climbed 8.7 points to 3,254.7.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. (CBA) gained after upbeat outlook comments made at its annual general meeting, with ANZ Banking Group Ltd. rising after reporting a record profit of US$953 million in the year to September.

A dealer with a North American brokerage said there was no clear direction in the market, although ANZ’s record profit result lifted expectations in the banking sector.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.6 per cent lower on consolidation after recent gains, with the Straits Times Index falling 8.02 points to close at 1,409.18.

The return of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) to power after the opposition failed to contest half of the 84 seats at stake in next week’s general elections had been anticipated and did not affect the market, they said.

The market has been up so much that some stocks are just a bit exhausted. I think momentum-wise there should be some consolidation, that’s why you’ve seen the Straits Times Index choppy today, a dealer at a regional brokerage said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian stocks closed 0.2 per cent lower amid falls in most major stocks and a general lack of buying interest.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange’s composite index fell 0.2 per cent or 1.29 points to 615.11.

The market was really quiet and the volume was pathetic. I used up most of the time to do administration work, said an institutional sales manager.

There’s some buying of Telekom causing it to gyrate a bit, but it was not big enough to offset the losses caused by falls of other big cap stocks.

MUMBAI: Share prices closed 0.6 per cent lower on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as traders took profits in blue chips ahead of a long holiday weekend.

The benchmark-30 share BSE sensitive index shed 18.00 points to close at 3,022.16. The markets will be closed Friday for a Hindu festival.

Dealers said the index largely fell on profit booking as traders exited technology stocks after Satyam Computer’s quarterly results and the absence of expected institutional buying.

Pharmaceuticals however continued to be sought on sustained hope of benefits arising from possible sales to the US to fight the anthrax outbreak, a dealer with a domestic brokerage said.

JAKARTA: Jakarta share prices closed 1.2 per cent higher in quiet trade as a technical rebound in select large caps and speculative buying in Semen Gresik and Astra International offset the initial impact of a weaker rupiah.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 4.474 points at 390.435, but off a low of 385.502.

Even though the rupiah is going weaker, there is still interest in speculative stocks such as Astra and Semen Gresik, he said.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s stock market gained 1.2 per cent, returning to levels not seen since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

After weeks of thin trading, the New Zealand sharemarket’s top 40 index closed up 22.31 points at 1,927.24.

One broker said the session was more a reaction to offshore movements than a sign confidence was returning to New Zealand investors.—AFP