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HONG KONG, June 1: Asian stocks closed mixed on Wednesday with overnight falls on Wall Street weighing on sentiment but losses were minimal with investors opting to cash-up on recent gains.
Japan and the Philippines continued their ride into positive territory amid further good news surrounding their respective economies, as did Australia where fears of an interest rate hike are receding.
However, profit takers honed in on New Zealand and Indonesia while China returned to eight year lows as the government again mooted the sale of its non-tradable shares, an overhang which continues to dog the market.
TOKYO: Share prices closed 0.47 per cent higher as dealers shrugged off a slump on Wall Street to take heart in data suggesting Japan’s economic recovery is becoming more robust.
Dealers said a range of stocks linked to domestic demand from contractors to banks to printing companies gained after back-to-back days of data showing better labor market conditions.
The Nikkei-225 index gained 53.08 points to 11,329.67.
Kumagai Gumi jumped 3.55 percent or 10 yen to 292, Obayashi by 2.0 percent or 11 yen to 563 and Kajima by 1.6 percent or 6 yen to 378.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed flat in cautious trade following Wall Street’s falls but China Mobile and Hutchison Whampoa outperformed following positive recommendations from some brokerages.
Among property counters, Sun Hung Kai firmed 0.75 to 75 following news of its acquisition of the Hong Kong department store operations of Japan’s Seiyu.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 1.01 per cent higher boosted by an improving export performance and a decline in the likelihood of further interest rate hikes this year.
The benchmark SP/ASX 200 index closed up 41.4 points at 4,147.8. The broader All Ordinaries index closed up 33.3 points at 4,103.7 on volume of 1.102 billion shares worth 4.34 billion dollars.
Telstra rose 0.05 to 5.07 while SingTel eased 0.02 to 2.07.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.48 per cent lower on profit-taking but gains in select blue chips such as Telkom and Indosat helped limit the market’s fall.
Consumer goods producer Unilever Indonesia closed down 575 rupiah at 4,000 rupiah on profit-taking after gaining 19.60 percent on the previous day.
SINGAPORE: Shares closed 0.70 per cent higher as interest in select blue chips and banking stocks boosted a lacklustre market.
The Straits Times Index rose 15.16 points to 2,176.93 on volume of 533 million shares worth 614 million Singapore dollars (374 million US).
Keppel Corp gained 30 cents to 11.90 on optimism over the conglomerate’s prospects after unit Keppel FELS won a contract worth 780 million dollars to build two oil rigs for Denmark’s AP Moeller-Maersk, dealers said.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.14 per cent higher after financial institutions and brokerages tightened loan and margin facilities following recent sharp falls in some stocks.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed up 1.23 points at 861.96 on volume of 389.7 million shares worth 489.33 million ringgit (129 million dollars).
Among blue chips, Tenaga Nasional was up 0.20 ringgit at 10.50, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.20 to 10.0, and Malayan Banking added 0.20 to 11.20.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 1.26 per cent lower as most major bluechip stocks lost ground.
The NZSX-50 gross index fell 38.29 points to 2,996.06 on turnover worth 149.9 million dollars.
Fletcher Building was the only top four stock to rise, recovering two cents to 6.27 dollars after slumping 23 cents Tuesday following weak residential building data.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed up 0.2 per cent led by mutual funds in large market capitalization companies, dealers said.
The Mumbai stock exchange’s 30-share benchmark Sensex rose 17.49 points to close at 6,729.90.—AFP
