November 14, 2006	Tuesday	Shawwal 21, 1427

HONG KONG, Nov 13: Asian stocks closed lower on Monday with investors more concerned with issues at home after a flat performance by Wall Street left Asian equities without a solid lead.

The recent rally which delivered benchmarks to record and multi-year highs also provided a chief reason for some profit taking and falls on the day were viewed as part of a healthy consolidation.

TOKYO: Share prices retreated for a fourth session in a row, dipping briefly below 16,000 points as investors remained nervous about the local economic outlook.

The Nikkei-225 index fell 89.94 points or 0.56 per cent to 16,022.49. Volume fell to 1.64 billion shares from 1.91 billion on Friday.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.12 per cent lower on a heavy selloff in property stocks, triggered by announcements of share placements by some major property developers.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 22.60 points at 18,868.54. Turnover was 57.66 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.40 billion US).

SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.34 per cent lower as the resources sector dragged down the market following a drop in metal prices.

The SP/ASX 200 fell 18.3 points to 5,418.47. A total of 1.29 billion shares worth 4.73 billion dollars (3.6 billion US) changed hands.

Bell Potter private client advisor Stuart Smith said the market mainly reacted to the fall in commodity prices on Friday.

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed flat as investors continued to consolidate positions after the index's recent run-up.

Dealers said sentiment was dampened by losses in key regional bourses.

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.24 per cent lower on profit-taking after last week's surge, with plantation and mining stocks leading the decline.

The composite index closed down 2.49 points at 1,019.81. Trading volume was 911.11 million shares valued at 1.08 billion ringgit (296.7 million dollars).

MUMBAI: Share prices closed up 0.87 per cent to a third straight record high led by optimism over sustained economic growth.

The 30-share benchmark Sensex index rose 116.09 points to 13,399. The previous record close was Friday when the index touched 13,282.91.—AFP