October 19, 2006	Thursday	Ramazan 25, 1427

HONG KONG, Oct 18: Asian stocks closed mostly higher with limited gains on Wednesday with sentiment weighed down by a fall on Wall Street, and the threat of another North Korean nuclear test.

Upcoming holidays around the region also provided an excuse for investors to cash out after a recent rally but overall optimism in the regional economies remained positive and most markets finished the day with modest gains.

The mood was reflected in Tokyo where the benchmark rose 0.25 per cent, Seoul recovered from early falls on the North Korean threat and was up 0.22 per cent, Singapore gained by 0.18 percent and Manila rose 0.12 percent.

TOKYO: Share prices closed slightly higher, reversing early losses as the yen steadied and investors overlooked a sluggish performance overnight on Wall Street.

The Nikkei-225 index rose 41.41 points or 0.25 percent to 16,653.00. Volume rose to 1.60 billion shares from 1.50 billion on Tuesday.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.18 per cent higher as gains in blue chip China Mobile and rotational buying of some second-liners such as China Everbright and other financial counters helped reverse morning losses.

SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.60 per cent higher as passage of a new media ownership law sparked a flurry of activity in the sector, giving the overall market a boost.

At the same time, the key miners were subdued while Wall Street's weaker finish overnight provided no support.

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.18 per cent higher but with the broad market under pressure as players consolidated after recent gains.

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed slightly lower in thin trade as investors continued to stay on the sidelines ahead of a long holiday break.

JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.15 lower, but off their intra-day lows, amid an overnight fall on Wall Street.

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.29 per cent lower following a fall in market leader Telecom.

The NZX-50 gross index fell 10.54 points to 3,664.91 on turnover worth $134.8 million (89.3 million US).

MUMBAI: Share prices lost ground for a second day, closing down 0.20 per cent in choppy trade as investors booked profits following a strong rally.

The 30-share Sensex index fell 25.35 points to 12,858.48.—AFP