September 26, 2006	Tuesday	Ramazan 2, 1427

HONG KONG, Sept 25: Asian stocks closed flat and tending lower on Monday with investors increasingly worried about the outlook for a slowing United States economy after falls on Wall Street.

Dealers said the market is waiting for further data from the US, including September consumer confidence figures and August new home sales data due out this week, for more clues on US economic prospects.

Tokyo, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur and Manila typified the mood by closing flat while slight losses were registered in Singapore, Shanghai, Jakarta, and Hong Kong.

Bangkok bucked the broader trend and knocked-up its first positive finish, with a 0.74 per cent rise, since last Tuesday's late night coup which ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Seoul staged a technical rebound while Taipei was also higher with rotational plays offsetting negative sentiment over the US economy.

TOKYO: Share prices closed little changed, coming off early lows in cautious trade as worries over the slowing US economy continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The Nikkei-225 index slipped a fractional 0.86 points to 15,633.81. Volume was 1.55 billion shares, up from 1.44 billion on Friday.

Central JR rose 20,000 yen to 1.34 million yen and West JR added 6,000 yen to 496,000.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.31 per cent lower after a seesaw trading session as concerns over the state of the US economy weighed on investors'minds.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 54.61 points at 17,546.04. Turnover was 35.9 billion Hong Kong dollars (4.6 billion US dollars).

SYDNEY: Share prices closed little changed as solid gains sparked by continued merger and takeover speculation were offset by weaker resources.

Dealers said losses in market leaders BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto weighed on sentiment, with the miners subject to portfolio adjustment as metal prices continue volatile.

The SP/ASX 200 added 3.1 points to 4,986.3. Turnover was 1.03 billion shares worth 3.86 billion dollars (2.9 billion dollars US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.13 per cent higher on the absence of strong trading catalysts, with investor focus on small caps.

The Straits Times index closed up 3.39 points to 2,523.89 on volume of 1.18 billion shares valued at 888.50 million Singapore dollars (562 million US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed flat with investors sidelined in the absence of fresh leads and ahead of a central bank decision on interest rates.

Even local funds, which had supported select blue chips when the market was generally weak, chose to stay on the sidelines, dealers said.

The composite index was up 0.21 points at 965.44 on volume of 408.05 million shares worth 590.43 million ringgit (160.44 million dollars).

JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.27 per cent lower on profit-taking after last week's rally and with a pullback in the rupiah weighing on sentiment.

The composite index lost 4.069 points at 1,506.756 on volume of 1.31 billion shares worth 1.16 trillion rupiah ($125 million).

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.28pc lower, with a sharp fall in Fletcher Building offsetting gains in other leading stocks.

The NZX-50 gross index fell 9.93 points to 3,496.92 on turnover worth $173.1 million (US$115.6 million).

Fletcher Building went ex a 21 cent dividend, but fell 34 cents or four per cent to six-month low of $8.27.—AFP