November 02, 2006	Thursday	Shawwal 9, 1427

HONG KONG, Nov 1: Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday as investors shrugged off another lacklustre performance on Wall Street and sent many benchmarks to their highest levels ever.

High expectations for corporate profits, improved metal prices, interest in stocks that have lagged the recent rally and an inflow of capital from outside the region were all cited for benefitting the markets.

Buying in laggards pushed Hong Kong up 0.71 per cent for record close while Jakarta extended its run into record territory with a 0.46 per cent lift on the prospect of an interest rate cut.

Mumbai was up 0.55 per cent for a best ever finish. Sydney gained 0.59 per cent to a record high while Wellington struck its highest intraday point ever before easing back to finish up 0.29 per cent, just shy of a record close.

Singapore was the best performer, surging 1.33 per cent and back towards record levels on strong support for the property sector and Shanghai rose 0.97 per cent and is trading at a five year high.However, the subdued sentiment on Wall Street and a stronger yen -- which hurts exporters -- weighed on Tokyo which fell 0.15 per cent. Taipei ended the day flat. Manila was closed for a public holiday.

TOKYO: Share prices closed narrowly mixed as a stronger yen and a subdued performance overnight on Wall Street weighed on sentiment.

Dealers said investors were also digesting a report from the central bank that painted an upbeat picture of the economic outlook but kept markets guessing on when interest rates will rise again here.

The Nikkei-225 index dropped 24.13 points to 16,375.26.Volume rose slightly to 1.65 billion shares from 1.63 billion Tuesday.

HONG KONG: Share prices rose 0.71 per cent to a record finish led by index heavyweight HSBC and laggard stocks such as Swire Pacific amid a fresh inflow of funds into the market.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 129.30 points at 18,453.65. Turnover was 38.78 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$4.9 billion).

SYDNEY: Share prices closed up 0.59 per cent at a record high with an overnight rise in metal prices boosting investor sentiment, which lifted banking stocks.

However, dealers said the release of building approvals data showing a 6.1 per cent rebound for September would not prevent next week's expected interest rate rise.

The SP/ASX 200 advanced 32.0 points to 5,416.4, beating the previous record of 5,399.4 set Monday. Turnover was 1.44 billion shares worth 4.66 billion dollars (3.61 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed sharply higher, surging 1.33 per cent on gains in property stocks as well as selected blue chips with the market again nearing a record close.

The Straits Times Index gained 36.03 points to 2,737.78 on volume of 1.76 billion shares worth 1.43 billion Singapore dollars (923 million US).

Today the market was buoyed by the property sector, a dealer at a local brokerage said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.11 per cent higher on strong corporate earnings.

Dealers said the market also reacted positively to significant developments such as state-owned postal provider, Pos Malaysia's cash distribution plans and shipping firm MISC's move to acquire additional tankers.

The composite index closed up 1.04 points at 989.34 on turnover of 769.06 million shares worth 868.36 million ringgit.

JAKARTA: Share prices gained 0.46 per cent with the main index finishing at a fresh record high as investors targeted blue chips on hopes of another central bank rate cut.

The composite index closed up 7.242 points at a new closing high of 1,589.868. Volume was 1.18 billion shares worth 1.58 trillion rupiah (173.48 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: Share prices rose 0.29 per cent after hitting a record high earlier in the day.

The NZSX-50 index hit an intra-day high of 3,811.41, compared to the previous peak of 3,807.23 on April 7 this year.

But the NZSX-50 remained just short of a closing record, rising 11.12 points to 3,795.62, compared with the record finish of 3,800.97 on April 7.

Turnover was 191.5 million New Zealand dollars (128.2 million US).

MUMBAI: Share prices closed at a new record high on fund buying despite a warning from the central bank the previous day that the economy shows signs of overheating.

The 30-share Sensex index rose 71.14 points to 13,033.04. The previous record close was 13,024.26 set on Oct 30.—AFP