December 11, 2001	Tuesday	Ramazan 25, 1422

TOKYO, Dec 10: Asian sharemarkets were mostly lower on Monday, with investors following the lead of Wall Street in electing to take profits.

On Friday the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.5 per cent to close at 10,049.46 and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.6 per cent to 2,021.26 with dealers saying weak US jobs data for November tempered hopes for a quick economic recovery and gave investors an excuse to take profits after strong gains.

In Asia Monday, the Thai market was closed for a national holiday.

Tokyo stocks tumbled 2.1 per cent, dampened by the dip in US share prices at and lingering concerns over Japan’s ailing economy and banks.

An announcement by mega-bank UFJ Holdings Inc. that it would sell its US unit to boost its finances added fuel to credit risk concerns over the Japanese financial sector already shaken by last week’s collapse of builder Aoki Corp.

The Nikkei average of 225 leading issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed down 225.88 points at 10,571.01.

A scenario is emerging in the market that only a hard-landing could help the banking industry bottom out and pull ahead in the long- and medium-term” said Nikko Solomon Smith Barney market analyst Mika Katata.

UFJ Holdings, the world’s fifth biggest financial group, said it would sell United California Bank to France’s BNP Paribas for $2.4 billion.

HONG KONG: Share prices lost 0.4 per cent on selective profit-taking after the falls in US markets.

The key Hang Seng index lost 47.26 points to close at 11,784.92.

However, dealers said selling pressure was not substantial as investors looked forward to another 25-50 basis point interest rate cut at the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Tuesday.

The US stock markets were lower and there are some weak US economic data... they were used as an excuse for investors to take profits, he said.

SYDNEY: Australian shares eased 0.3 per cent as major blue chips reacted in sympathy with a Wall Street depressed by gloomy labour statistics.

After falls on world markets at the end of last week, Australia’s key market indicator, the All Ordinaries index, closed down 11.1 points at 3,301.6 while the SP/ASX 200 index fell 11.1 points to 3360.7.

A Sydney broker said falling job statistics in the US had pushed most major indices down on Friday, and the Australian market now appeared to be adjusting accordingly.

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.8 per cent down after the falls in US equity markets.

The Straits Times Index finished 12.44 points lower at 1,616.36.

Some stocks gained back their composure although I expect this weakness to persist as investors await the FOMC meeting outcome, said a dealer at a local brokerage.

Most blue chip stocks, including those from the banking and property sectors, closed lower, thereby dragging down the index, dealers said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.8 per cent higher on year-end window-dressing.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index rose 5.59 points to finish at 667.11.

There’s some window-dressing by funds but there’s speculative play on select blue chips believed to be targets of window-dressing, said an institutional dealer with a large stockbroking firm.

Last Friday, it was Telekom Malaysia, today there’s play on Maybank, AMMB and Tenaga, the dealer said.

MUMBAI: Share prices closed 0.2 per cent higher on the Bombay Stock Exchange with traders focusing on second-line information technology stocks amid hopes of fresh foreign fund allocations towards the end of December.

The benchmark-30 share BSE sensitive index rose 6.52 points to close at 3,442.89.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 0.9 per cent lower as investors sold Telkom stock after news the government was selling a 11.9-per cent stake at a lower than expected price.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 3.348 points at 373.863.

Dealers said market sentiment was also dampened by a government official’s statement the privatisation of cement maker Semen Gresik was unlikely to be completed this year.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand stocks retraced some of last week’s gains after the release of weak job advertisement and retail sales data.

The benchmark NZSE40 index ended one per cent or 20.59 points lower at 2,052.56.

Brokers said last week’s optimism the US economy might recover quickly evaporated after weak jobs data in the US on Friday.

Locally, job ads data showing a sharp eight percent fall and a worse than expected 0.1 per cent fall in October retail sales pointed to the slowdown starting to bite here.—AFP