HONG KONG, Feb 28: Asian stocks closed mixed on Tuesday with Mumbai grabbing the spotlight after another record close in response to the government’s annual budget and a forecast of 10 per cent annual growth.
In Manila, the political turmoil and speculation of a plot to oust the government was all but ignored with strong corporate earnings supporting the benchmark which closed 1.61 per cent higher.
With a mild lead from Wall Street, modest gains were registered in Shanghai, Singapore and Wellington. Seoul, Hong Kong and Jakarta eased while Tokyo, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur were flat.
Taipei was closed.
TOKYO: Share prices closed slightly higher, reversing early losses as market sentiment remained buoyant following the return of foreign investors.
Dealers said the market recovered from early profit-taking as investors remained upbeat about Japan’s economy following a sixth straight monthly rise in industrial output, albeit slightly smaller than expected.
The Nikkei-225 index added 12.48 points or 0.08 per cent to 16,205.43 on turnover of 2.27 billion shares.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.20 per cent lower on profit-taking after recent strong gains.
The Hang Seng Index was down 31.41 points at 15,918.48, off a low of 15,824.45 and a high of 15,928.08. Turnover was 34.54 billion Hong Kong dollars (4.43 billion US).
SYDNEY: Share prices closed little changed as gains in the banks offset weaker miners hit by lower metal prices.
The SP/ASX 200 sat in negative territory for most of the day and closed down 2.8 points at 4,921.3. Turnover was 1.29 billion shares worth 4.45 billion dollars (3.29 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.19 per cent higher, supported by gains in blue chips such as property developer City Developments, Singapore Airlines and banking giant DBS.
The Straits Times Index rose 4.59 points to 2,481.96. Volume reached 1.22 billion shares worth 1.24 billion Singapore dollars (764 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed flat with investors worried by the prospect of inflation and higher interest rates after the government sharply raised fuel prices.
The composite index was up 0.28 points to 928.94 and volume traded was 711.10 million shares worth 924.28 million ringgit (248.67 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.39 per cent lower as moderate profit-taking hit blue chips Telkom and Bank Mandiri following Monday’s sharp gains.
Among major stocks, telecom firm Telkom dropped 50 rupiah to 6,200, while long distance operator Indosat gained 100 to 5,250.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 1.05 per cent higher following gains in market leader Telecom and rises in overseas markets.
The NZSX-50 gross index rose 35.85 points to 3,404.93 on turnover worth 116.7 million New Zealand dollars (77.0 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices closed at a record high as investors welcomed proposals to boost the economy outlined in the budget for the next fiscal year starting April 1.
The benchmark Mumbai stock exchange Sensex index rose 88.15 points or 0.86 per cent to a second-straight record high of 10,370.24.—AFP
