October 05, 2006	Thursday	Ramazan 11, 1427

HONG KONG, Oct 4: Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday after North Korea threatened a nuclear test, eroding early confidence which followed a record performance by Wall Street overnight.Falling oil prices and the prospect that inflation and even interest rates would follow suit had propelled New York to its best ever finish, and levels not seen since January 2000.

Elsewhere, Sydney fell 0.80 percent after sharp falls in commodity prices while Manila was down 1.41 percent as The Philippines continues to count the economic damage caused by Typhoon Xangsane.

Kuala Lumpur was also lower while Hong Kong and Jakarta were little changed as Bangkok and Singapore bucked the trend and followed Wall Street's lead to a higher close.

TOKYO: Share prices ended lower as investors locked in early gains, unsettled by North Korea's vow to conduct a nuclear test and signs the US economy is slowing.

Dealers said initial optimism sparked by news that Wall Street's Dow Jones index hit a record high overnight had given way to caution that weaker economic activity might be behind the sharp decline in energy prices.

The Nikkei-225 index lost 159.54 points or 0.98 percent to 16,082.55. Volume rose to 1.91 billion shares from 1.58 billion shares Tuesday.

The Dow hit a record and the Tankan survey has confirmed the gradual recovery of Japanese companies. Given such conditions, there's no reason to sell, said Hideyuki Suzuki, a strategist at SBI Securities.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed firmer after a see-saw session as gains in index heavyweight China Mobile helped offset earlier losses driven by commodity stocks.

Trading was rangebound as investors were cautious ahead of key US economic data this week, including the September non-farm payrolls report while regional markets were generally lower after North Korea's nuclear test threats.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 22.68 points at 17,629.21. Turnover was 43.19 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$5.5 billion).

SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.80 per cent lower as investors sold off mining and energy stocks after metal and oil prices fell further overnight.

The SP/ASX 200 lost 41.6 points at 5,142.7. Turnover was 1.01 billion shares, worth 4.07 billion dollars (3.03 billion US).

The direction of commodity prices is dominating sentiment, Aequs Securities head of institutional trading Ric Klusman said, as heavy selling in leading resource stocks BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto weighed on the wider market. BHP Billiton shed $1.19 to 24.76.

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.37 per cent higher, but some profit taking in banks and properties weighed down on the broader market.

The Straits Times index was up 9.65 points at 2,602.92 on volume of 1.75 billion shares worth 1.15 billion Singapore dollars (US$ 728 million).

The valuation of blue chips is not cheap now, which prevented people from reacting (to Wall Street's sharp gain Tuesday) too aggressively, UOB Kay Hian director of dealing, Chan Tuck Sing said.

In addition there is no news that is not already discounted, such as lower oil prices and high property prices at Sentosa Cove, he added.

Citiraya fell 0.93 to 0.15 on top volume of 600.72 million shares, making up more than one-third of the day's trading volume. Dealers said the stock is considered grossly overvalued.

Citiraya parent, Equation Corp, slumped 0.06 to 0.15, hit by the negative sentiment in its 37.5 percent-owned unit.

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.36 per cent lower amid a lack of immediate fresh leads.

The composite index lost 3.50 points to 964.06 on volume of 464.85 million shares valued at 659.29 million ringgit (181 million dollars).

Tenaga was down 0.05 ringgit at 9.55.

JAKARTA: Share prices closed little changed, with a late rebound in selected major stocks helping the market recover from early losses.

The central bank is widely expected to cut its key rate again.

The composite index closed down 0.625 points at 1,537.08. Volume was 1.70 billion shares valued at 1.78 trillion rupiah (194 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.24 per cent lower, ignoring a record close on Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The NZX-50 gross index fell 8.67 points to 3,593.39 on light turnover worth 85.7 million dollars (US$56.4m).

He added that recent bond issues were soaking up some investors' funds.

Market leader Telecom eased five cents to $4.27, casino operator Sky City lost seven cents to 5.27 and financial services firm Tower was unchanged at 3.30.—AFP