October 04, 2006	Wednesday	Ramazan 10, 1427

HONG KONG, Oct 3: Asian stocks closed narrowly mixed on Tuesday after a lacklustre performance on Wall Street sparked by a weaker-than-expected US manufacturing report, dealers said.

North Korea's announcement that it planned to carry out a nuclear test came after most markets had closed but there were concerns the news could spark a sharp rise in international tensions and put stocks under pressure Wednesday.

It's apparent that manufacturing is losing momentum and feeling the effects of higher interest rates and a weaker housing market, said Institute of Supply Management survey chief Norbert Ore.

The data in turn made for a lower dollar, hitting sentiment in key exporting companies, the drivers for many of the region's bourses.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices put on a lacklustre show as investors took a breather after four days of gains fueled by optimism about the economy, dealers said.

They said a sluggish performance on Wall Street and a rise in the value of the yen had weighed on sentiment, while shares in electronics giant Sony continued their slide on worries about massive battery recalls.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 12.20 points or 0.08 per cent to 16,242.09, after touching a low of 16,148.89.

The broader TOPIX index of all first-section stocks shed 7.28 points or 0.45 percent to 1,617.84.

Losers exceeded gainers 1,069 to 492, with 132 stocks ending flat.

Turnover dipped to 1.58 billion shares from 1.61 billion Monday.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed 0.11 per cent higher, with investors buoyed by expectations the country's central bank will leave official interest rates at 6.00 percent, dealers said.

They said investor sentiment also recovered after earlier selling in resource stocks, which had been prompted by overnight fall in metal prices.

The benchmark SP/ASX 200 gained 5.5 points to 5,184.3 while the broader All Ordinaries Index added 2.5 points to 5,141.2.

Turnover was 948.3 million shares worth 3.57 billion dollars (2.67 billion dollars US), with 549 stocks down, 479 up and 337 steady.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.26 per cent lower as investors took profits, dealers said.

They said that while losses on Wall Street weighed on the main index, investors remained optimistic overall about broad market fundamentals given falling oil prices.

The Straits Times index was down 6.79 points at 2,593.27 on volume of 1.26 billion shares worth 1.20 billion dollars (759 million US).

Despite the headline index fall, gains led losers 330 to 233 with 684 stocks unchanged.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.21 per cent lower on profit-taking in the blue chips as the market continued in a narrow range, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 2.11 points to 967.56.

Losers led gainers 333 to 238, with 324 stocks unchanged.

Apart from profit-taking, the market also suffered from a lack of fresh leads, said Cheah King Yoong of SJ Securities.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.58 per cent higher as investors bought property and bank stocks on expectations of an interest rate cut by the central bank, dealers said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index rose 8.803 points at 1,537.710 on volume of 1.68 billion shares worth 1.69 trillion rupiah (183.50 million dollars.) Gainers led decliners 72 to 40, with 89 stocks unchanged.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed little changed, with generally weaker world markets dampening sentiment in light trading, dealers said.

The NZX-50 gross index fell 1.63 points to 3,602.07 on turnover worth $88.9 million (US$58.5 million).—AFP