January 10, 2006	Tuesday	Zilhaj 9, 1426

HONG KONG, Jan 9: Asian stocks closed higher on Monday, extending gains after weak US jobs data encouraged hopes the US Federal Reserve must be near to ending its series of interest rate hikes, dealers said.

Resulting gains on Wall Street Friday got the region off to another strong start as investors began to price in the prospect that interest rates could ease later in the year, giving a boost to the US economy which serves as a market of last resort for Asia’s exports.

Tokyo was closed for a public holiday but this did little to dampen trade, which continued to see heavy volumes, especially in Hong Kong, up 1.32 per cent as fresh funds poured into the market.

Sydney continued in record breaking form, adding 0.84 per cent, while Jakarta rose 1.87 per cent for another record finish.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed at near five-year highs on a fresh inflow of funds as confidence continued strong across the region and Wall Street’s gains on Friday added to the momentum, dealers said.

The property sub-index closed up 329.83 points or 1.75 per cent at 19,214.76, with Cheung Kong up 0.85 at 84.15 and Sun Hung Kai Properties up 1.35 at 80.00.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed up 0.84 per cent at a fresh record high, buoyed by Wall Street’s gains and as rising oil, base metal and gold prices bolstered the resources sector, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 40.4 points at 4,831.5, surpassing the record of 4,820.3 set last Wednesday. It closed just below a new intra-day record of 4,834.8 and above a low of 4,803.1.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.22 per cent higher, boosted by extended gains in the bank stocks, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index rose 5.25 points to 2,425.99 on volume of 1.19 billion shares worth 1.03 billion Singapore dollars (631 million US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.23 per cent higher as institutional funds cautiously tried to to “catch up” with a firmer region as sentiment was supported by gains on Wall Street, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 2.13 points to 913.8 on volume of 620.47 million shares worth 789.72 million ringgit (210.65 million dollars).

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed up 1.87 per cent at another record high, supported by fresh foreign funds and a positive performance by most markets in the region, dealers said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index added 22.805 points at 1,245.054, surpassing the previous record close of 1,222.249 reached on Friday. Volume was 2.26 billion shares worth 2.31 trillion rupiah (240.75 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed slightly firmer as trade remained muted due to the ongoing summer holidays and amid continuing concerns about an expected economic slowdown, dealers said.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed 0.59 per cent lower on profit-taking after recent record gains, dealers said.

The Mumbai stock exchange 30-share Sensex index lost 56.84 points to 9,583.45.—AFP