November 28, 2001	Wednesday	Ramazan 12, 1422

TOKYO, Nov 27: Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday with key regional markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong succumbing to profit-taking after recent sharp gains.

Tokyo stocks fell 1.0 per cent as late profit-taking eroded gains made due to rises on Wall street and a weaker yen.

The Nikkei average of 225 leading issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 115.41 points to finish below the symbolic 11,000-point mark at 10,948.89, ending a three-session rising streak.

HONG KONG: Share prices fell 1.1 per cent on selective profit-taking with many investors sidelined ahead of the expiry of the November futures contract.

The key Hang Seng index lost 130.42 points to close at 11,261.54.

Josephine Hui, director of Celestial Asia Securities, said local shares were weighed down by falls in Tokyo equities and investors were also nervous about Wall Street’s reaction to United States economic data due later Tuesday.

SYDNEY: The Australian sharemarket edged 0.2 per cent higher ahead of the impending reweighting of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index.

The All Ordinaries index added 6.7 points to 3,291.4 while the SP/ASX 200 closed 7.3 points higher at 3,355.8.

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.8 per cent higher, led by blue chips after Wall Street’s gains ahead of changes to the Morgan Stanley Capital International indices.

The Straits Times Index gained 26.55 points to close at 1,502.10.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed down 0.3 per cent due to profit-taking and a lack of interest in blue chips.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index fell 2.13 points to finish at 638.35.

SEOUL: South Korean share prices fell 0.6 per cent on program selling of key blue chips with investors locking in recent solid gains.

The composite index closed down 4.46 points at 670.10.

MANILA: Philippine share prices rose 2.1 per cent on bargain hunting which outweighed negative sentiment after attacks by Muslim rebels in the major southern port city of Zamboanga. The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index added 23.15 points to close at 1,111.52.

TAIPEI: Taiwan share prices ended 0.6 per cent lower as investors locked in profits from recent gains.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index fell 27.99 points to 4,580.33.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed 1.1 per cent lower on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on profit taking in technology and old economy stocks after recent sharp gains.

The benchmark 30 share BSE-sensitive index shed 35.02 points to close at 3,287.57.

Dealers said while a few pharmaceuticals and banking stocks ruled firm, technology and some other old economy counters saw profit taking by operators after recent sharp gains.

BANGKOK: The Thai stock market gained 1.3 per cent as foreign investors continued their buying.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index rose 3.90 points to close at 296.46 and the blue chip SET-50 gained 0.30 points to close at 19.45.

Phillip Securities (Thailand) strategist Namchai Techaratanaviroz said investors bought on the expectation the SET index would continue to rise on the back of further foreign buying.

However, the SET index failed to test the major resistance level of 300 points as foreign investor interest in large-caps and blue-chips waned, he said.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed fractionally lower, led by a continued sell-off in Bank Central Asia but a rebound in selected blue chips limited losses.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index ended down 0.452 points at 380.976.

The dealer said there was heavy pressure on BCA and Indosiar as IBRA gets closer to the final bidding stage for the two companies.

SHANGHAI: B-shares rose 0.9 per cent after sentiment was boosted by a rebound in domestic A-shares, dealers said.

The Shanghai B-share index added 1.33 points to close at 159.01 on turnover of 20.55 million dollars.

The A-share index gained 17.48 points or one per cent to 1,797.32 on turnover of 5.65 billion yuan (683 million dollars).

After two days of losses, B-shares staged a moderate rebound in line with their domestic A-share counterparts, dealers said.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices rose 1.5 per cent on gains by market leaders.

The NZSE40 index rose 31.08 points to 2,040.43.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare shot up another 1.10 dollars or six per cent to 18.60 dollars following its recent listing.

Market leader Telecom Corp. also had a good day, rising 12 cents to 4.85 dollars, contributing about 12 points of the 31-point index gain.—AFP