0
HONG KONG, Oct 27: Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday, after drifting throughout the day amid a lack of fresh positive leads following further weakness on Wall Street, dealers said.
That weakness combined with ongoing inflationary fears was enough to push Sydney, Mumbai, Wellington, Singapore and Seoul into negative territory.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong and Taipei were further weighed down by a possible spread of bird flu. Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai were flat.
Dealers said a string of national holidays which fall due next week had investors taking to the sidelines in many countries and this had added to the lacklustre tone.
And while Tokyo and Manila managed to buck the trend and close higher, their gains were only modest, they added.
TOKYO: Share prices closed 0.16 per cent higher, supported by domestic-demand linked stocks in cautious trade despite some nervousness over a host of leading company results.
Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management, said the focus was on companies serving the domestic market which were moving higher on increasing confidence the economy is finally recovering.
At the same time, whilst such stocks may be less influenced by developments on Wall Street, the market overall remains dependent for its lead on New York, which has been under pressure due to concerns over inflation and the prospect for higher US interest rates.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 22.06 points to 13,417.08 on volume of 2.84 billion shares.
Sony shed 30 yen or 0.8 per cent, with its results out after the close showing a near halving of net profit in the three months to September.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.53 per cent lower as futures-linked selling was compounded by Wall Street’s overnight weakness and fresh concerns over a possible spread of bird flu in China.
Sentiment was also weakened somewhat by concerns with the possible spread of bird flu in China, he added.
The Hang Seng index closed down 77.08 points at 14,381.06. Turnover was 23.83 billion Hong Kong dollars.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.23 per cent lower on quick profit-taking following Wednesday’s day’s solid gains.
The S and P/ASX 200 index was down 10.4 points at 4,433.0. Turnover was 1.24 billion shares worth 3.82 billion dollars (2.88 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.21 per cent lower on profit-taking after some companies reported strong results.
Investors were also taking profit ahead of next week due to two public holidays, dealers said. The market will be closed on Tuesday and Thursday.
The Straits Times Index fell 26.89 points to 2,201.90. Volume totalled 950 million shares worth 911 million Singapore dollars (542 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed flat in listless trade, with investors reluctant to take any fresh positions ahead of public holidays next week.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.14 per cent higher, supported by gains in select stocks such as cigarette maker Gudang Garam.
The Composite Index rose 1.522 points at 1,063.697 on volume of 3.32 billion shares worth US$507.07 million.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.22 per cent lower after two days of gains, with the central bank’s much anticipated interest rate hike of 25 basis points to 7.0 per cent having little immediate impact.
The NZSX-50 gross index slipped 7.35 points to 3,286.96 on turnover of 97.1 million New Zealand dollars (68 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices closed sharply lower as funds sold blue chip companies in line with the end of the October futures contract. The Sensex index dived 176.20 points or 2.21 per cent to close at 7,798.49.—AFP
