HONG KONG, Dec 8: Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday amid a bout of investor jitters which began with overnight falls on Wall Street and increased with an extended sell-off in Tokyo, dealers said.
Tokyo proved the region’s worst performer on the day dropping almost two per cent with investors cashing-up on recent sharp gains.
Hong Kong was also sharply lower amid the prospect of violent outbursts by protestors who are begining to arrive for next week’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference.
TOKYO: Share prices tumbled 1.95 per cent as investors locked in gains after hitting a series of five-year highs, with weaker-than-expected machinery orders dampening market sentiment.
The Nikkei-225 index fell 301.30 points to 15,183.36.
Sanyo was up five yen or 1.8 per cent at 285 following a report that the struggling consumer electronics manufacturer is in the final stages of talks with Goldman Sachs on selling a stake in its financial subsidiary Sanyo Electric Credit Co.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 1.69 per cent lower as investors locked in quick profits, with lingering worries over interest rates and fears of violent protests during next week’s World Trade Organisation summit.
SYDNEY: Share prices fell sharply amid weakness in the banking and resource sectors on the back of a negative lead from Wall Street.
Reynolds and Co private client adviser Michael Heffernan said the market lost ground in early trading and selling gathered pace late in the session.
The SP/ASX 200 index closed down 45.9 points or 0.99 per cent to 4,578.0 with 1.15 billion shares traded worth 3.72 billion dollars (2.77 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.26 per cent lower in muted trading amid an absence of fresh local leads, which left investors to follow sentiment elsewhere.
Developer CapitaLand closed four cents up at 3.34, City Developments was 25 cents higher at 8.55 and Keppel Land gained four cents to 3.68.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.50 per cent higher, as the key index was boosted by light bargain-hunting by local funds in selected blue chips.
The Composite Index was up 4.44 points to 896.11. Volume was 238.35 million shares, worth 443.71 million ringgit (118 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.60 per cent up, as gains in blue chips continued for a fifth straight trading day but the broader market closed off its highs on profit taking.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed little changed with the negative impact of an increase in interest rates offset by a less hawkish tone from the central bank.
The central bank Thursday raised official interest rates a quarter percentage point to 7.25 per cent but governor Alan Bollard took a softer tone on the likelihood of further increases.
MUMBAI: Share prices closed 0.12 per cent higher with investors focussed on automobile companies on hopes for increased prices and sales in the coming months.—AFP
