HONG KONG, Dec 15: Asian stocks closed mixed on Thursday with gains stemming from another positive performance on Wall Street limited by fears of inflation and a second straight fall in Tokyo.
Dealers said appreciating Asian currencies had also restricted buying in export stocks while year end position squaring had skewered trade through window dressing and low volumes.
This had helped Tokyo to a 1.36 per cent slump and the knock-on effect resulted in Bangkok closing 0.61 per cent lower.
TOKYO: Share prices closed 1.36 per cent lower, falling for a second straight day as a rebounding yen knocked down exporter shares and investors continued to take profits.
The Nikkei-225 index dropped 210.14 points to 15,254.44, pulling further away from recent highs not previously seen for five years and two months.
In the chipmaking sector, Mitsubishi Electric declined 35 yen to 797, and Toshiba fell 25 yen to 650.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.55 per cent higher Thursday, led by property stocks on expectations that the interest rate-rise cycle is nearing its end.
Dealers said there are also hopes for increased fund inflows as institutional investors spruce up their portfolios in the run-up to the new year.
The key Hang Seng Index closed up 82.76 points at 15,059.02.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.22 per cent higher with investor sentiment boosted from hopes the government will offer new tax cuts in light of a bigger-than-expected budget surplus.
Treasurer Peter Costello earlier the estimated federal government budget surplus for the year to June 2006 would come in 2.6 billion dollars (2.0 billion US) higher than a previously forecast 11.5 billion dollars.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed just 0.06 per cent higher led by Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), although trading remained generally subdued.
Among the blue chips, SingTel rose 0.03 to 2.57. Singapore Airlines added 0.10 at 11.70, Singapore Press Holdings dipped 0.02 to 4.28 and ST Engineering was up 0.02 at 2.75.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.43 per cent lower due to profit-taking and fresh concerns over rising inflation.
Inflation in November stood at 3.5 per cent, slightly exceeding market expectations of 3.3 per cent, and is forecast to inch up in the coming months.
Among blue chips, Tenaga Nasional lost 0.15 ringgit to 9.75, Telekom Malaysia was flat at 9.65 and Malayan Banking was down 0.10 at 11.30.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.51 per cent lower as profit taking dominated for the second straight day, mainly in blue chips Telkom, Astra International and Bank Mandiri.
Market mover Telkom lost 150 rupiah to 5,900 and Indosat fell 200 to 5,400.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.83 per cent higher following strong gains by market leader Telecom which said it was reviewing the future of its troubled Australian unit.
The NZSX-50 gross index rose 26.72 points to 3,234.67 on turnover of 106 million dollars (74.9 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices closed 0.77 pc lower as investors booked profits for a second-straight day after recent sharp gains.
Prices had surged to significant high levels and investors are booking profits, said Hemen Kapadia, partner at investment advisory firm, Morpheus Inc.
