HONG KONG, March 15: Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday after solid gains were registered on Wall Street where the latest economic data eased persistent fears of higher interest rates to come.
Hong Kong, with its broad exposure to the rate sensitive property market led gains with a 1.29 per cent rise while Shanghai rose 1.25 per cent.
Solid gains were also notched up in Tokyo and Taipei while more modest rises were recorded in Sydney, Manila and Seoul.
However, Wellington and Singapore bucked the trend and closed lower on profit taking. Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta were flat.
Mumbai was closed for a public holiday.
TOKYO: Share prices closed up 0.50 per cent on the heels of Wall Street where stocks jumped to multi-year highs overnight as inflation worries eased.
Usen rose 45 yen or 1.6 per cent to 2,850 after the cable and broadband operator said it was in talks with Livedoor about a possible business tie-up. Livedoor shot up nine yen or 11.8 per cent to 85.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed sharply higher, gaining 1.29 per cent, led by property stocks as interest-rate worries eased following the latest US economic data.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 200.60 points at 15,720.36. Turnover was 28.90 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.70 billion US).
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.29 per cent higher, bolstered by solid overnight gains on Wall Street as concerns over the US interest rate outlook eased.
Dealers said interest continued to be focused on the resources sector and that market fundamentals remained strong.
The key S and P/ASX 200 gained 14.1 points at 4,946.3. Turnover was 1.40 billion shares worth 4.21 billion dollars (3.01 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.35 per cent lower led by profit taking in blue chips.
The Straits Times Index fell 8.68 points at 2,498.02 on volume of 1.27 billion shares worth 1.15 billion Singapore dollars (710 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed flat as investors consolidated recent gains in blue chips.
The composite index slipped 0.13 points to 924.24 on volume of 846.44 million shares worth 783.36 million ringgit (210.89 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed flat as investors opted to wait for the release of full-year corporate earnings results this month before returning to the market.
The composite index fell 0.938 points at 1,244.441 on 1.08 billion shares worth 946.71 billion rupiah (103 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.22 per cent lower as investors took profits after the market posted record highs for three consecutive trading days.
The NZSX-50 gross index fell 7.9 points to 3,571.25 on turnover of 146.26 million New Zealand dollars (US$93.06 million).
